Balance
by Fayrandothneil
Summary: Starting over with only the word of the man who claims he's your real father isn't easy, but the life of Danny Phantom has never been easy. With his world pulled out from under him, Danny must learn to live a different way, and find secrets along the way.
1. Prolog

**I do not own Danny Phantom or Clockwork. **

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prolog—

_"You were never one of them."_

Danny shuddered from the memory. How long had it been since everything disappeared?

_"I did this to protect you."_

His whole world had fallen apart. No one remembered him. His family, Sam, Tucker, his teachers, even the school bully didn't recognize his favorite punching bag anymore, because they had never met.

_"The time stream snapped back into the way it was supposed to happen before it was altered."_

Time! Time had always been his enemy, now it was his bane.

_"Things cannot go back to the way they were. I'm sorry Daniel, but you have no choice."_

Everything had changed: his home, his life, even his appearance. He was still half-ghost, but he didn't look it. Black hair with pupil-less green eyes stared back at him in the mirror every day. The HAZMAT suit was gone, since it had never existed in the first place.

_"Whether you like it or not, you are my blood. I know you hate me right now, and I won't make you call me anything except by my name. However, you're job is just beginning."_

No longer Danny Fenton—he was never born; there were no birth records or social security number to say that he was. No longer Danny Phantom—he disappeared with Danny Fenton, but it would be easy to take up that name again, but it didn't seem right.

_"You'll work with me. I need your help now more than ever. I'll also help you learn how to handle your powers, and, if it comes to it, take my place some day in the very long stretch of eternity."_

All identity lost; having no choice but to start over. Danny choked on the lump in his throat as he finally let the guarded tears flow from his eyes.

_"I'm sorry about all of this Daniel, but it is the truth. I can only tell you your origins, but as to who you are . . . that is something you must discover for yourself."_

Starting over, discovering all over again after everything shattered so easily—like pulling apart tissue paper.

_"I'll give you time to adjust, but I must put you to work soon. The Observants won't allow me to have someone just staying with me. This place is the only home you have now, and you must earn your keep to stay here."_

The more Danny thought about it, the more right he knew it was. He had no choice but to live in the Ghost Zone and live as a ghost. The only question he had was if he could ever go back to the human world.

"Clockwork?"

The time ghost appeared beside him. The ghost looked regretful and full of pity for the boy, but it was sealed behind the wise mask he held for all ghosts he ran into. Only Danny was the able to look completely through it and see what the ghost was really feeling.

"Yes Daniel?" Clockwork asked.

"What do you need me to do?"

Clockwork smiled, but it didn't touch his eyes. He knew that the boy was still hurting, but he was relieved that he had come to terms with something. There was no way he could accept everything like that in one night.

_Just take it slow, he'll come around, I hope._

"Come with me."

Danny did as he was told, and for the first time, he was starting the day—not as the son of Jack Fenton, or the Phantom hero of Amity Park—as simply Daniel, Clockwork's apprentice and son.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Confused yet? This is just the Prolog after all so check out the first Chapter. It should make more sense after that. **


	2. Questions & Contemplations

Chapter 1—Danny's POV—Questions & Contemplations

Three weeks—three long weeks of trying to adjust to my new environment. I know it makes me sound like some sort of animal in a cage, but I have no other words to describe this feeling. I know I'm being stared at by Clockwork's servants, and he only has two. The idea of him having son seems to be ludicrous; but apparently, no one can deny that he is telling the truth. Clockwork is not known to lie—in fact, the day he lies is the day Hell freezes over—so no one is questioning him.

The only thing I'm glad about is being left alone. The only time I'm not alone is when the servants give me my meals and straighten the room. Clockwork only comes when I call him to ask a question. He answers me truthfully and straightforward, and I'm glad for that as well. He's not trying to make the situation softer for me, nor is he making it any harder. He's letting me take it at my own pace.

I had been rather moody lately, but Clockwork is ignoring that as well. I'm coming to recognize my own childish antics, but I also think that I have a right to act the way I am. I'm tired of being alone though, I need someone to talk to, to get rid of the chains that seem to be tightening around my already tired and confused mind.

"Clockwork?"

I was never sure on how to call for him. Every time it ended in a question, and I thought that I sounded rather pathetic because of it.

He appeared by my side, staff in hand and a mask of his wise-man act in place. I could tell that he was concerned for me though it showed in his pupil-less red eyes.

"Yes Daniel?" he asked like he normally did, all business yet wary because it was me talking.

"What do you need me to do?"

I saw the smile on his face as it slowly appeared. It didn't touch his eyes because he was aware that I was still upset, but he was relieved that I was finally talking to someone.

"Come with me."

I pushed off from the bed I was sitting on and floated beside him. He looked me over as if he was reassuring himself that I could hold myself up in the air. He nodded to himself after a moment and started to move to a different part of the tower. I followed silently behind him, taking in the dreary décor. It was dark in almost every hall, only the lights of the clocks on the walls keeping me from bumping into anything.

We came into a dead-end hallway, there were green doors on each side of me and one on the wall in front.

"The one adjacent to us is the library," Clockwork said, pointing at said door. "You may do whatever you wish in there except you can't use your powers. The only ones you can use in there are flight and telepathy when you master it."

I nodded, understanding that Clockwork must have a lot of valuable things in there and he wouldn't want them to get damaged. I mean, I did have control of my powers, but not that good of control. I still slipped up at times and I knew it wouldn't be a big deal anymore, but I still felt idiotic every time I slipped through the floor or I couldn't grab anything because my hand wasn't visible.

"This door," he pointed to the one closest to me on my right since there were two doors on this wall, "is the training room. You'll practice in there for at least four hours a day, if not more. Practice is the key to control."

I nodded again. Four hours of practice?! Well, at least it wasn't math homework.

"This door," he pointed to the one next to the training room, "opens to a different hallway. You need not use it unless I tell you. You could get easily lost in here and there are things that are extremely dangerous to a young ghost who doesn't know what he's doing or what he's messing with. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes sir," I said, feeling that a nod would be inappropriate to that question.

"The three doors here on the left," he pointed to the wall in general with his staff, "I can let you explore for yourself. Look around and familiarize yourself with this branch of the tower. I'll be back in a few hours to check on you."

Then he left, drifting into a purple vapor of air to reappear somewhere else. He knew I liked to do things by myself and in my current situation, it was better that way.

I decided to start with the library. I knew I couldn't get into any trouble there.

Clockwork wasn't kidding about not using powers in here. The place was huge and filled to the brim with books, artifacts, and other stuff that I couldn't name, but I knew it was old: everything smelled old, everything felt old, and everything looked old. The ceiling stretched up five stories, the bookshelves along with them. There was a table in the back, covered in maps and frayed documents that spilled over the side. I didn't know where to start; I felt overwhelmed by just the size of the room. I slowly backed out, deciding to try a different door.

I put my hand on the handle of the first door on the left side of the hall, and I instantly felt a cold feeling rush up my nerves. I was nervous about opening it, but Clockwork wouldn't let me get into something dangerous. He said I could roam around these rooms myself and that's just what I was going to do.

I opened the door and a cold wind met my face, like opening the door to the fridge. My eyes bugged out of my head when I saw what the door held. Crystals—all sizes, shapes and colors of crystals imbedded into what looked like an actual cave. They were hanging upside down, sprouting from the ground like deadly spikes, and sticking out of the walls like coat racks.

I drifted in, making sure to keep the door open so it could light up the cave. I landed on the ground and saw small plumes of dirt kick up when my feet touched. It was actual earth dirt; did that mean I was on earth?

I shut the door quickly, keeping my hand on the handle if I plunged myself into darkness. Oddly enough, I didn't—there was a light source in front of me, a small one, like the twinkling of a star. It showed the sharp edges of the crystals though, almost blinding me as the faucets enhanced the light they came in contact with. Curious as to where on earth I was, jumped back up and started to float forwards.

It took me about ten minutes to make it to the entrance and I saw the bright sun of earth and the green grass of the land. I still couldn't tell exactly where I was, so I flew up in the air and went further out to see if I could guess. I could see a big city below me, and it was hot. I must be in Florida, or rather California since I saw more dirt then swamp. I turned around to head back to the cave when I stopped. The big HOLLYWOOD sign was in front of me and I could see the small glint of the crystals from the big O between the H and first L.

"Huh," I stated, scratching my head. "Who would have thought a gateway to the Ghost Zone was in L.A.?"

I flew back into the cave and looked at one of the crystals. I wondered why Clockwork had a door to this place. Maybe the crystals had some sort of value?

I went over to a rather large specimen and studied it. It was a light blue color, but the light that went through it came out in a rainbow of colors I had never seen before. It was pointed on the top, like a spear head. I could imagine that it could be used as a weapon. I put my hand on it to see how strong it was, and found that it was easily levered from its roots. I gasped as it landed and shattered into a thousand pieces when it hit the earth. Okay, so weapon was out—any fool wouldn't use such a flimsy weapon to defend himself, unless he was desperate.

I bent down to inspect the pieces when something else caught my eye. A large mushroom, about the size of my hand, had been behind the crystal, hiding itself from the world. It was a light blue, like the crystal, and it radiated a sort of glow. What was that called again—bioluminescent? I think that's it.

Picking up an unidentifiable plant is dangerous, as Maddie had warned me countless times as I grew up in her care. I didn't touch the plant, or rather fungus, but I did study it with my eyes. I couldn't gather any information that I wanted from that so I decided to go to a different source—that museum Clockwork calls a library.

It was well organized, but there were hundreds upon hundreds of text to go through to get what I wanted. I wasn't sure how long I spent time in there, but I knew it was a long time. To be honest, I didn't know how to tell time in this darn tower. There were clocks ticking all over the place but not one of them said the same time, ever—and some not in English.

I finally found what I wanted. Pulling the old pages apart carefully, I saw the illustration of the fungus and read the text.

'This specimen, better known as the Spector mushroom, is very rare. It is deadly to humans, but beneficial to ghosts of all types. It acts as an enhancer to a ghost's ecto-systems, raising the level of their energy in-take and expelling it at five times its original magnitude. It is rare however, because of the environment it takes to develop such specimens. They are dependent on a large amount of light for a fungus, but they must also stay in the dark because once exposed directly to light, the gills shrivel and die. Because of this, they need the help of special light-collecting crystals. The mushroom will hook its roots to the crystal and create a symbiotic relationship. The mushroom gets the light it needs to live from the crystal and the crystal grows stronger from the waste the mushroom expels.

'The crystal is almost extinct because of humans. Their land development has bulldozed the gem into nothing. Though beneficial to the mushroom, the crystal is extremely fragile. The slightest touch can send it careening into the ground and shattering into a million pieces. The only thing the crystal is good for is for the existence of the mushroom, but there is only one known place where this mushroom grows: within the keep of Pariah Dark. The castle is cursed and booby trapped however and no ghost—sane or insane—dares to go and try his luck. It seems the mushroom is forever lost to ghost kind.'

"So Clockwork has his own stash of a ghost-power-booster?" I asked myself out loud. "Why would he need that?"

"I'm sure you can think of a few times where you wished you had such a thing."

I jumped and spun around at the same time, my heart beating twice as fast from the surprise. Clockwork was there, smiling at my embarrassment. Well, I'm so glad he found it amusing. (That was sarcastic for those of you who are dense.)

"Don't do that again," I huffed after I got my heart rate under control.

"I can't promise that Daniel. So, was your finding to your liking?"

"It was interesting," I said after a moment shrugging my shoulders. "I don't see how it helps me though."

"How so?"

"I am half human still—right?"

Clockwork nodded, "Your mother was human."

"Well, if it's dangerous for humans, then does that mean I can't use it? If I'm still half-human, then that means there's a chance for me to get hurt by it. Maybe not die, but get hurt."

"I am aware of this, and I have already studied and thought about it. You will need to perform some test for me to see if it is safe for you to use the mushroom. Tests similar to human allergy tests, just to see what happens."

I nodded, not knowing what else to do.

"Come with me, there's someone I want you to meet."

Ghost Writer was waiting for us in the front room, sipping what looked like tea. He looked pretty much the same after the encounter I had with him during that rhyming Christmas deal. I still shudder at the thought by the way, so I wasn't too happy to see the guy here. The look Clockwork gave me though, told me to be polite or else he would punish me in some unexplainable way that I wouldn't find too enjoyable.

I sighed heavily before coming around the corner and fixing my eyes on the ghost in the old English chair. The cup was halfway to his lips when I came into sight and he stopped what he was doing as if someone had pushed his pause button.

I remember Clockwork telling me that no one would have any memories of me, human or ghost, so I was a little put off by Ghost Writer's reaction. It was almost as if he recognized me, but that wasn't possible any more.

The ghost lifted his head and set the cup down on the saucer, his large smile showing his slight fangs.

"So you spoke the truth Clockwork," Ghost Writer said, standing up and walking over to us, mostly me I think since he never took those eyes away from me.

"When have I fibbed to you Earl?" Clockwork asked, like they were old buddies.

"Never, but you have been known to bluff quite a bit."

Ghost Writer started to circle me, and I flew out of his way, staying with him by spinning with his movements. I didn't want him to jump on my back when I wasn't looking.

"A bit cautious isn't he?" Ghost Writer asked, frowning at Clockwork this time.

"Daniel has reasons to be paranoid at times," Clockwork sent a glare my way, as if trying to force me to relax. "I'm sure you would understand?"

"Quite right," Ghost Writer adjusted his glasses and smiled back at me. "Hello my boy. Are you settling in well?"

I shrugged, not wanting to speak at the moment, since I didn't have an answer for that question. Clockwork didn't glare at me that time. I was guessing he would let me speak when I wanted too.

"Daniel, Earl is a good friend of mine," Clockwork said to me. "He's very knowledgeable, and he has agreed to help you with your instruction. You'll be going to him three times a week for your schooling."

I frowned in distaste. So much for getting out of math homework.

"I know you don't approve of this, but you will need to know things to survive here, it's different from earth," Clockwork continued. "The only time you'll be excused from this work is when you have to work for me out in the field."

I nodded curtly, suddenly wishing for the dark corners of my room. I just wanted to be left alone. Clockwork must have sensed my mood because he dismissed me quickly. I glided around the corridors, in no particular hurry to go to my room, when I came back to the hall where Clockwork had picked me up from. My eyes locked on the second door on the left wall, curiosity taking me over again.

I opened up the door without hesitation and flew in, stopping in my tracks when I saw what was before me: a giant balcony jutting from a cliff face, standing proudly before a violet sky. The door had closed behind me and I turned around when it clicked shut. It was in the cliff face where the balcony was growing from. It looked completely natural, even the rail at the edge. I walked over to it, suddenly finding it harder to fly here for some reason. I looked over the rail and saw nothing but mist below, like a mysterious endless abyss would hold in a bad horror movie. I backed away, having a nasty feeling I wouldn't be able to save myself if I fell over.

I looked up to the purple sky again and saw no doors floating in the air. I wasn't in the Ghost Zone any more, and I wasn't on earth either. The sky was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. It was almost divided up in different sections, each one a different shade of purple. I figured the sections were giant clouds because they were wispy and looked soft to the touch, yet so far out of reach. I looked closer and saw small lights behind the clouds, like stars, but they were bigger then a star and didn't glow as brightly.

I tried to sigh, but found that there was no air here. I began to panic, but when I thought back on it, I had been here for a few minutes and would have realized if I was in trouble. People know when they can't breathe. It must be a ghost thing if I didn't need air to survive. I also found out I was indifferent to the weather. I could feel the chill in the air, but I didn't mind it. I could tell a human would freeze to death if they were up here though. It was also dead silent, as if I was the only being in the universe here—and for all I knew, I was.

Finding the silence calming, I crossed my legs in the air and leaned my chin on the heels of my palms. I stared at the sky, my thoughts drifting to a million different places like the clouds before me. The purple reminded me of Clockwork's cape, which reminded me of my current situation in turn.

I had felt betrayed when Clockwork told me what was going on, but I could also understand why he did what he did. From my experience with the Fentons, a good parent would do anything for their child. I wasn't angry at him any more for doing it, but I still felt lost. All I had known was the human life, with my human family and friends. Now all I had was Clockwork. I missed my human life so much that it was an ache in my heart, but I also knew it was impossible to return to it, no matter how bad I wanted it back.

I unfolded myself from the air and walked over to the door, taking one last look at the sky and rosy colored balcony before I went back to the Ghost Zone. I was going to find Clockwork and get some answers.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**It is so time for Clockwork to fess up. In fact I wanted the answers to bad that I wrote the next chapter right after I finished this one! **


	3. Answers & Confrentations

Chapter 2—Danny's POV— Answers & Confrontations

"Did you enjoy your time on Saturn?"

I had floated into Clockwork's main room, the room with his giant viewing mirror and the room that held the majority of the clocks. I ignored his question and went straight to my own.

"You know why I'm here?"

"Yes, and your wandering is justified. Come closer and I'll answer your questions."

That was easier than expected. I was certain he would hold back information from me, but I guess there was nothing to lose if he told me.

"Just, who exactly are you?" I asked, landing on the ground next to him where he hovered.

"I am Clockwork, Ghost Master of Time and your biological father," he stated, calm as ever, but was telling me what I already knew.

"How did you become my father, if you don't mind my asking?" I asked a bit more irritated this time.

Clockwork's eyes softened and he reached inside his cape. He extracted something and handed it to me. I took it and opened it up—it was an old black and white photo of a woman, a rather beautiful woman at that. Her long hair was flowing over her shoulders and her dress was a stark white in the photo, standing out from the grays in the background, so I guessed she had black hair and had been wearing a white dress when the photo was taken.

"Her name was Evelyn McCord," Clockwork said, twisting something on his staff. "She was the love of my life. She came from a good Irish family, with some slight Scottish background, but mostly Irish."

"When was this picture taken?" I asked.

"1732," Clockwork said automatically. "Photographs didn't exist then, but I had wanted a picture of her that lasted longer than a painted portrait. It had taken a long time to convince her to take the picture, she was sure it was an instrument of the devil. You can keep it if you like."

"What happened?"

It was a loaded question, I knew, but I had to know how this happened.

"Typhoid," was Clockwork's short answer. "She hadn't had any family except for an elder brother who had denounced her after she became pregnant. She couldn't support herself in Ireland so she came to America, as amazing as it sounds during that time, but she did have ghostly help. She lived in Amity Park, but others rejecter her there as well, because of her predicament and her heritage. Because she was my responsibility, I took care of her. After you were born, I took care of both of you. You couldn't leave the house because of your eyes, so I set up a type of nanny for you when Evelyn couldn't look after you."

"Wulf," I realized.

I saw recognition in his eyes when he had tackled me in the auditorium when we first met. I had thought it was from the posters with my reward on them, but I guess I was wrong. He had also said something that sounded odd to me—silvi—I'm sure that was it, or something like it.

"Yes, Wulf looked after you well," Clockwork said. "The typhoid settled in about a year after you were born. Both you and Evelyn had caught it. She was worse off then you because she was just human. She died from it eventually, begging me to take you from there. I did as she asked, but I knew that I didn't have the resources to cure you either. You would have died eventually if I hadn't sent you into the future so you could get the care you needed."

I remember Maddie telling me something about how I had gotten really sick really quickly when I was little. She said that they had almost lost me.

"I picked the best humans to use as your surrogate parents. The Fentons were ghost hunters, so where better to put you to protect you from ghosts? I did have enemies back then Daniel, I still do, and they would have used you against me. I had to choose the right people. I implanted memories into the Fenton family members and gave them the documents they would need to show that you were their son. I put them with you and have looked after you ever since."

"How was I human for so long?" I asked him.

"You were never human. Your powers lay dormant for many years is all. I had to change your appearance though, hiding your eyes from that green to a blue that still looked odd, but it was more human than the green. The incident with the portal was just that, an incident. It did nothing to you other then give you two sides to your ghost and human halves. Your powers would have shown themselves as they had without that shock from the portal, you just wouldn't have had a 'Phantom' side."

So I had always been a half-ghost freak? I didn't feel happy about that, but at least Clockwork cared.

"So, what happened? Why did everyone just forget?"

"It was like a spell. It had to be temporary because it wasn't the way things were suppose to be for eternity. I knew the time for it to run its course was coming close. I knew you would be traumatized by it, so I had left you alone. Now that you're accepting it, slowly, I believe it's time for you to socialize yourself with the Ghost Zone, but first, I have something to give you."

He seemed exited as he floated across the room and went to what looked like a wardrobe. He opened it up and I stared. The first thing I noticed was the black trench coat hanging up in the middle of the other things. It was Vanhelsing style, and I had always loved that movie. Clockwork had taken it down and tossed it to me.

"It's consistent with the timeline you were born in, and it has a number of surprises," Clockwork said. "It's just your size so put it on."

I did, feeling the heavy fabric slap against my thighs and shift comfortably on my shoulders. I saw my 'D' symbol in each corner of the collar and I looked at Clockwork for an explanation.

"It suits you," Clockwork said, grabbing something else from the wardrobe. "I have my own symbol and you should have your own."

He handed me what he had grabbed and I looked at it in my hands. It was an old fashioned pocket-watch, complete with chain and everything. It was completely black with silver engraving and my white 'D' symbol on the lid. I pressed the button on the top and it flipped open. It was dark inside—no clock hands, or numbers, or anything—just a black screen.

"This is sort of like my viewing mirror," Clockwork said. "You can view only present events of the timeline you are in, and it works as a communicator for us and anyone else you need to contact. You put the clock in your shirt pocket and clip the chain to one of the loops inside your coat."

I did as he said and stood back, putting my hands in my pants pockets. Clockwork looked me over and smiled, nodding in approval.

"Very professional," he said.

I gave him a weak smile back, but a shiver ran up my spine. I turned around, trying to find what was wrong.

"Relax," Clockwork told me, not sounding worried, "it's just some uninvited guests."

I giant glowing eyeball in a white and green robe came in, quickly followed by another. They stared at me, their eye lids coming down in a sharp 'v' point. They didn't look very happy to see me and the shiver crawled up my spine even stronger than before.

"Clockwork," one of them growled out to the Time Master, facing him directly with clenched fists, "we need to talk."

"Of course," Clockwork sounded annoyed more than anything else. "Daniel, please excuse us."

I turned to go, but one of the giant eyeballs grabbed me by the back of my coat, stopping me. I yelped from the unexpected tug and tried to free myself, but his scrawny little fingers were like an iron trap. He brought me up to his level, but didn't turn my face towards him.

"Stop that you nuisance," he said, shaking me hard.

I was getting pissed.

"Let me go and I'll stop," I told him coldly, flailing in the air since he was twice my height.

He just shook me harder. I gathered green energy into my fist and socked him in the stomach. He doubled over in surprise and I saw my chance to get him again. I poked him in the eye, hard, and he screamed in pain, letting me go. He flew away, dodging the angry arms of the other eyeball-on-a-stick and hiding behind Clockwork. Childish I know, but I was a little freaked at the moment by their entrance and something about them made my skin crawl and my senses scream for me to run.

"You'll pay for that," the guy I punched pointed at me, his big eye now red from irritation.

"Well, you didn't let him go," Clockwork sounded amused. "And you should have known that he would fight back."

The guy growled as he glared at me again. I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Now, what is the reason behind your unwelcomed visit?" Clockwork got down to the point.

"That vermin," the more collected eyeball said, pointing at me. "It is one thing to guide him to make his choices, but this… we have never been so deceived Clockwork."

"Then why punish him?" Clockwork asked. "Punish me, he could hardly control the events that I set in motion."

I looked at Clockwork as if he was crazy. He sounded so calm about it, in fact, he seemed close to laughter. The eyeballs didn't see this, so they did just as he requested.

"Very well Clockwork," the head guy said. "You are right in saying that. You are forbidden to step foot—or rather tail—into the human world. We will come back for you later," he had said to me.

All I did was roll my eyes. If I could face Pariah's army alone, then I could face two grumpy ghosts like them.

"Now please leave, and let me and my son be," Clockwork said, banging the bottom of his staff onto the ground, making everything shake in his anger.

The ghosts seemed spooked so they left, but not without another angry look at me.

"Who were those creeps?" I asked, pointing a thumb at their retreating backs.

"Those are two of the Observants," Clockwork said shaking his head. "I work for them, but they are pains. If they give you trouble, let me know. I can handle them better then they can handle themselves."

"What exactly do they do here?"

"They are like supreme council here in the Ghost Zone. They manage the rules and regulations of the Zone, but they argue too much with themselves to get anything done. Thus why the world is in such mess and why the human world is plagued with ghosts. The Observants find other things important over the things that should be looked at."

"Is that why Walker has his own prison?"

"Yes, the Observants find him to be breaking several laws by making his own up, but he captures most of the troublemakers in that area of the Ghost Zone that they just leave him be, less work for them so they have more time to argue."

"So, can they really banish you from the human world?"

"Yes, they can, and they have."

"Do you need to go to the human world often?"

"Yes."

"So, now you can't do your job. Why would they do that?"

"The Observants know I have a large sense of responsibility to the order of the Ghost Zone and the human world since both must be balanced. By adding restrictions on me, they think they can make me go back begging for them to lift it. In response to that, I am in their debt, which also puts me in a bad situation."

"So, why aren't you worried about it?"

A smile graced Clockwork's face as he looked down on me.

"They never said anything about you going into the human world to help me out."

He had known this was going to happen. That's why he was so calm, he had bested the Observants in this game, that's why he was smiling so big. I suddenly found myself laughing at Clockwork's cleverness and the Observant's stupidity. Clockwork joined me and I could swear I heard a yell of frustration from somewhere in the green sky of the Zone.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**The Observants have always gotten on my nerves, so I thought it was about time Danny introduced himself to them. Nice huh? There is way more confrantation from where that came from, I can promise you, but right now, Danny has to make some ghostly friends, as well as enemies! **


	4. Friends and Foes

**Sorry if this chapter is long and boring, I tried my best to make it interesting, but I need to have Danny meet the other ghost-kids (and by that I mean ghosts who are ghosts, not half ghosts like he is). Next chapter will be better--promise! :)**

**I don't own any of the following characters except for Spencer, Cara, and Blaze.**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Chapter 3—Danny's POV—Friends and Foes

"Daniel."

"Go away," I grumbled, bringing the covers over my head as if that would help hide me better from Sullivan—Clockwork's butler of sorts.

Of course the attempt was futile. Sullivan just turned the sheets intangible and made them settle underneath me, leaving my body to curl up from the natural chill of the Ghost Zone.

"Master Clockwork requires your presence," he said without emotion, than he left.

I sighed in defeat, knowing that I was going to get pestered until physical force was required to haul me out of bed. I groped around with my hand for a bed post to help lift my upper body, but all I managed to do was slip off of the bed and land on the floor. I was awake then because of the pain from my wrist from landing on it funny.

I got up, showered, got dressed, and all the while grumbled about how time was irrelevant to the Ghost Master of Time himself.

To be honest, I think time is irrelevant to all ghosts. In the Ghost Zone, there was no sun or moon to say whether it was night or day here—and I'm pretty sure ghosts didn't sleep. I never saw a room for Clockwork other than his 'office' where he spent most of his time working on the time stream. So far as I knew, I was the only one in the tower that needed a bed.

"Daniel," Clockwork nodded at me when I came into the room.

For some reason, I didn't mind him calling me by my full name—I did with everyone else, but not him.

"What?" I asked, trying not to sound annoyed, but it must have shown in my tone because Clockwork chuckled.

"Tired?"

"I haven't gotten use to all the ticking," I said, glaring at the source of the ticking—AKA the clocks on every single wall.

"I guess that's something else to add to my argument," Clockwork mumbled to himself. "Daniel, you need to go outside today."

"I do?"

"Yes, you do."

I sensed some underline meaning to his words—possibly having something to do with time—but I didn't argue. I've been cooped up in this place for a long time and I was getting restless.

"Alright," I shrugged.

He didn't say another word so I left.

I had always been careful when it came to the Ghost Zone. The place was filled with surprises and not the good kind. Why Clockwork wanted me to come out here, I don't exactly know, but something told me that I would find out soon. Clockwork never did anything without reason—even if it was insane.

I had been floating around for what felt like an hour—like I said, time was lost on me here—and was about to fly back home, when I heard the familiar sound of cannon fire and instinct pulled me to the side. I felt the heat on my cheek and the rush of wind in my hair as something rocketed past my head. I didn't bother to turn and see what was fired at me, I was more interested in what shot at me.

I spun around so fast that I almost lost my balance, but practice of watching my back kept me steady. My eyes bugged as I saw that flaming green hair and goatee on the metal frame of Skulker—the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter. What a joke.

"Watch where you're aiming tin man!" I yelled, shaking my fist in his direction in my anger.

"Watch where you're flying whelp!" he shouted back at me. "And no one calls me tin man!"

He fired at me again from a cannon on his wrist. I dodged it easily.

"You'll have to do better than that!" I yelled.

Several missiles popped up from Skulker's arms, back, and chest—about fifty in all I think.

"Aw crap."

He fired and I fled. I dodged the ones that were slower, but the faster ones were smaller and sharp. Many of them flew past me, but cut my bare hands and face as they sped by. I knew my best escape was to take cover from the crazed hunter, but I saw nothing but doors, doors, and more doors—and I feared what was on the other side of one of them then what was behind me.

I spiraled out of the way of another missile and that when I spotted a piece of floating land that looked promising. I sped towards it, hearing Skulker's rockets right behind me. I became level with the flat ground and scanned for a hiding spot. A crevice inside a rock was the only thing around that I could find. I barely squeezed through it in time before Skulker himself came to a stop right outside my hiding spot. He looked at his arm for a while, probably checking his scanners or something, than he left.

I sighed out the breath I had been holding in a shaky tone. Skulker had kind of caught me off guard. I hadn't seen any of my old enemies—well they were exactly my enemies anymore come to think of it—in a while now. I hadn't expected to run into anybody yet.

Hot breath was breathing down my neck and into the back of my coat. I blinked as I tried to place the familiarity of it as I turned around to see what was going on. My nose ran into a scaly chest and my eyes traveled up to see a pointed nose and large nostrils with giant red eyes blinking down on me.

"Crap," I whispered, as if the creature couldn't hear me.

I turned around and exited the rock, only I hadn't counted on getting my hips stuck in the crack, it was as if it had shrunk while I was inside it. I pushed on the rock with my hands to try and free myself, but no such luck.

"Stuck?"

I turned around to see the red eyes of the dragon blinking down on me again, only in humor this time. The voice sounded female, and it didn't sound like she was going to fry me to death or rip my insides out. In fact, as best as I could tell from my position, she was smiling at me.

"Uh, you're not going to kill me are you?" I asked warily.

She laughed.

"Why would I do that?" she asked me, puzzled with that smile still plastered on her reptilian face.

"Never mind, can you help me get out?"

She giggled at my predicament again and morphed into a human-like form. Her eyes were still blood red, but she had on pants, an old frilly white shirt, and medieval time's vest-thing—I think they called it a jerkin. Her blond hair was pulled back into a braid high on her head and her black boots reminded me of Sam's combat boots. She showed her teeth and I saw slight fangs at the corners of her mouth, but they made her look kind of cute.

"Hold on," she said, putting her hands on the sides of the rock.

I had a good feeling I was going to get a kick in the pants—and that's exactly what I got. I shot out of the rock, rubbing my sore bottom. Her boots had spikes on them! I could hear her laughing as she flew out of the rock and floated up to my level.

"The name's Caravel, but call me Cara," she said, holding out a gloved hand to me.

"Danny," I said taking her hand and shaking it, she had a tight grip.

"What brings you here Danny? Not many people dare pass on my uncle's territory."

"Your uncle?" I asked.

"Aragon," she said as if it was obvious. "You must be new here."

"You could say that. Wait! Aragon is your uncle?" she nodded. "Then, is Dora your mom?"

"Yes, how did you know?" she asked, confused.

"Well, I've been in the area before," I said, knowing it wasn't exactly a lie, I just couldn't tell her the truth either.

"Oh, you must be Clockwork's kid," she said, smiling in realization. "Mother told me about you."

"She did?"

How could she, she shouldn't be able to remember me.

"Uh huh, Mom is good friends with Clockwork. They talk all of the time."

"Oh," I sighed, looking at the ground, feeling foolish. "Well, thanks for kicking me out."

"No problem, I'm free to do that any time."

"So, why were you in there in the first place?"

Her eyes got wide as she looked behind her, as if searching for a specific something.

"Oh crap, Spencer is going to find me for sure," she muttered.

She turned around, grabbed my hand and pulled me along for a wild ride through a jagged maze of rocks I would come to know as the Dragon's Teeth.

"Who's Spencer?" I asked her as she guided us through the rocks.

"Shush!" she told me with a backward glare over her shoulder. "We can't let him find us."

"Uh, is he like, a bad guy?"

"What? Spencer? He couldn't hurt a fly."

Now I was confused. If she was trying to hide from this Spencer guy, and he wasn't out to kill her, then were they playing a game? That made as much sense as anything else.

"Why not just go invisible?"

"We agreed to no invisibility," she whispered back to me.

Yep, they were playing a game.

"Gottcha!"

Something landed on top of us and sent us all sprawling to the ground. I was the first to regain my footing and I saw what hit us. It was a guy around my age- blue skin, Elvin ears, and he was dressed in much the same way as Cara was—only his looked more modern. The colors of his clothes were mainly earthen colors, but some of the trim was sky blue. He caught my eyes with his own green ones and smiled.

"Who's the new guy?" he asked Cara as she stood up.

"Spencer, this is Danny, he's new to the area. Danny this is Spencer—son of Sandman," Cara introduced us.

"_The _Sandman?" I asked, only hearing about him in fairytales, but Pandora had just been a story as well.

"Yeah, and who's your old man?" Spencer asked, giving off the impression of one who was use to a rich life—like Paulina or Dash.

"Clockwork," I said, the words still sounding alien to my lips.

Spencer visibly paled for some reason, as if he had just insulted the Queen of England without meaning too.

"Oh," he said, but seemed to recover himself quickly enough.

I only frowned at his behavior and decided to ignore it. I turned to Cara, her smile still in place.

"Listen, thanks for helping me out," I said to her, "but I think I need to get going."

Her smile morphed into a disappointed frown.

"Oh come on," she said, taking my arm and staring up at me with pleading eyes. "Stick around for a little while longer. Blaze should be here soon. You can meet her then we can play Four Point!"

"Four Point?" I asked.

"It's like the humans' game of Four Square," Spencer said as if I was stupid.

I glared at him then turned back to Cara, who was still hanging in my arm, even when I floated up and shook my shoulder to try and get her to let go. She was a clingy little thing.

"Alright," I gave in, "I'll stick around for a little while longer."

"Yes!" Cara grabbed me in a bear hug, squeezing the life out of my lungs.

"I—need to—breathe!" I gasped, but she only laughed.

"Silly, we don't need to breathe!" she let go of me though, not noticing my skin fade from blue to its normal pale color.

"What's going on?"

Another figure glided towards us and landed beside Spencer. She kind of looked like a punk—reminding me a lot of Ember—but her main colors were red and hot pink, not black. Her skin was as pale as mine and her eyes were a pupil-less red, like Clockwork's. Her pixie cut hair was the color of blood red and I thought I caught it flickering.

"Danny, this is Blaze," Cara said, shoving me towards the new-comer. "She's the daughter of the Phoenix Ghost. She's an elemental over fire."

I stuck out my hand, but the minutes she touched mine, Blaze pulled back.

"You're an ice elemental," she said, staring at my hand warily.

"Among other things," I said, smiling to win her confidence. "I don't bite."

She warily took my hand, but I felt her grip tighten when nothing happened other than a slight shake of the hand.

We played Four Point for the rest of that afternoon—which is like Four Square, only we play with a ball of ecto-plasum and we can't let it touch the ground. We split up into teams to play, almost really like volleyball, only with no net. I was paired up with Cara against Spencer and Blaze. I'm happy to say that our team won.

My instincts told me it was getting late and that I should be heading back. Cara was upset that I had to go and Blaze also seemed sad, but Spencer could have cared less I guess. He had ignored me most of the time I had spent in their company, as if I wasn't worth looking at.

Cara invited me to meet them at Pandora's maze the next day and I readily agreed. It was nice to hang out with people my own age again, even if they weren't Sam and Tucker. My earth friends could never join me in the air on their own, or do anything like what these kids could do that I had to keep secret from my human family. Being me was refreshing and less draining then sneaking around and having to hide all of the time.

I was flying back to the tower when I ran into some trouble—some rule-crazy trouble.

"Flying carelessly and with earthly contraband," the sound of a giant book slamming shut brought me back to reality. "That's against the rules."

I looked behind me to see Walker staring down on me in his white attire.

"Aw crap—again," I muttered.

"Insulting an officer, that's going to add to your sentence," Walk jotted something down in his book.

"But I wasn't doing anything!" I argued.

"Talking back, that's another thousand years," he scribbled something again.

"This is stupid, I was just flying home."

"Insulting the law and excuses! Care to add any more time onto your sentence punk?"

I shut up, realizing talking my way out of this wasn't doing any good, so I did the next best thing I could think of—I got my butt out of there!

"Come back here!" Walker shouted after me. "Resisting arrest, that's _another_ thousand!"

I didn't expect him to be so fast, or for him to grab me so easily. He snatched the bottom of my coat, pulling me back and knocking the wind out of me at my abrupt halt. I was in for it now if I didn't fight back.

I charged up an ice blast in my hands, out of Walker's sight as he read me my rights. When he let go of my coat so he could grab my arms to bind them, I whirled around and shot at him. I got him square in the face, his face literally frozen in shock as his hands tried to pry the ice away from himself.

I didn't want to look at my handy work, so I flew away until the tower came insight. I sighed in relief, then I heard Walker yelling behind me and a bunch of his guards were with him this time.

"He must have called for backup," I realized, deciding that speed was my best bet and flew for all I was worth at the tower.

I burst through the doors, gliding down the halls and startling the maid until I reached Clockwork's office. Only then did I stop and catch my breath.

"I liked the stunt with the ice," Clockwork said, smiling down on me from his position higher up in the room.

"He's going to be busting down the doors soon," I said between pants.

On queue Mr. Zoot-Suit barreled his way in, his right-hand Bullet right behind him with six guards.

"What is your business here Warden?" Clockwork said calmly, floating down to meet the angry green eyes of Walker. "Because so far as I know, you weren't invited."

Walker was going to say something, but Clockwork cut him off.

"I don't like intrusions, this is private property," Clockwork waved his staff in the warden's face. "I'm afraid that I'll have to call upon the law to get rid of you."

"I _AM_ the law!" Walker shouted, grabbing Clockwork's staff in an angry fist and sticking his face in Clockwork's hooded one.

An electrical pulse went through the staff and Walker was blow back to the doorway, his upper body smoking from the shock.

"It's not only your head that could use a fix, Warden," Clockwork spat out, "but your breath as well. Now get out of my sight before I put you all in a paradox!"

The guards were frightened enough to take the warning to heart. They flew out as if the devil himself was at their heels. Bullet was going, but he stopped to help Walker collect himself. The white ghost shoved Bullet off of him and glared at me angrily. I shrank back, trying to be as far away from his wrath as possible.

"You," Clockwork said, his voice dripping with anger and a warning not to be taken lightly, "stay away from my son or you will regret it. Is that clear?"

Walker nodded sharply, still glaring at me. I gulped and he smiled in satisfaction that he could at least make me show my fear. I simmered at my own weakness and rose in the air to float by my father.

"He said to get out," I warned, my hand glowing green and I could feel the energy pulse behind my eyes, making them glow green as well.

Walker seemed shocked that I had stood up to him, but he glared all the same and stomped out, knocking something down in the hallway with a loud crash. I winced.

"That sounded very expensive," I said turning to Clockwork, letting the energy dissipate in a harmless fog over my hand.

"It can be replaced," Clockwork said, looking at me as well. "You sure can cause a lot of trouble by just doing nothing."

I blushed, looking down and rubbing the back of my neck nervously.

"Sorry about that," I said.

"It's alright. It won't be the last time we see him, but come, tell me how your day went."


	5. Missions & Baths

**I thought of this when I was driving home from school this afternoon and I just had to write it down before I forgot. Sorry if it seems a little choppy--but it was the best idea I got for this and it fits in perfectly! Good reading!**

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 4—Danny's POV—Missions & Baths

I smirked as another one of the training bots fell to pieces from one of my ecto-disks. I had been training with Clockwork for about three months now and I was able to shape my ecto-blasts into anything I wanted. I found that a disk was the easiest—if not the coolest—one to use; it was also very efficient to get the job done.

I rubbed my hands together in satisfaction at the destroyed bot, knowing that I could never train like this if I was still with the Fentons. Controlling my powers had been easier than ever now that I didn't have to keep it secret. I felt stronger than I ever had been, more sure of myself, and I was taking in more energy than I had before.

The way a ghosts runs is not only by ecto plasum, but also by the energy in the air generated by other beings—mainly emotions, but other factors are in the mix, just like the air on earth isn't 100% oxygen. Different ghosts suck up different energies—some ghosts sucked up negative emotions, some sucked up positive, and still others could suck up either one. I fed off of mainly positive—sometimes I could pick up a negative or two, but only if I was starving for it. With the hard training, but my body was needing more energy to run on and I had noticed it almost right away. Clockwork explained it to me, he also said that since half of me was dependent on human nutrition as well, he stressed that I didn't take in any more energy than I could handle. He showed me some techniques to help me manage the intake, but I knew I wasn't going to blow up anytime soon. I could manage now, but I wasn't sure about the future.

Along with needing to take in more energy came new powers. Clockwork had seen it coming so he had started on some exercises to help me control them. I acquired two new ones over the time span I had lived here in the Ghost Zone—Telekinesis and Shape-shifting. The telekinesis was simple enough; all I had to do was focus my energy on a particular object, in case it with said energy, and then do as I wished. My power was weak at first—I could barely lift a pencil—but now smaller objects weren't much of a bother, it was heavier objects that killed me. I knew that I would have to go back to earth and stop ghosts soon, and that meant trying to get people out of the way and make sure cars didn't crash into anything. The shape-shifting was different; I couldn't maintain a human form for very long, and I couldn't replicate a voice at all, but animals were simple enough. I could copy household pets and a few wild animals, but the largest I could manage was a tiger before I fell apart. I didn't know when this power would come in handy—it seemed useless compared to my other powers—but Clockwork was insistent that I learn it.

"So, when's your old man going to send you into the field?" Spencer asked me as all four of us lay down in the wild grasses of the outskirts of Skulker's lair.

"Tomorrow," I said, watching a large piece of green float in front of—more green.

"Are you scared?" Cara asked me, turning onto her side and supporting her upper body with her elbow so she could look me in the eye.

"No," I shook my head, feeling the rough grass brush against my hair. "I'm pretty stealthy when it comes to humans."

"You almost sound excited," Blaze imputed. "What's the deal? Only the most malevolent ghosts go into the human realm, that's why we can hang here. Tin man is in the human world doing some errands for his boss."

I shrugged at her question, but my eyes narrowed. I knew all too well that Skulker's boss was Vlad. Without me around, he would still be after Jack and Maddie. It made my skin crawl, but my mission was not to monitor him. I was to go back to Amity and capture the Lunch Lady. I had a serious sense of déjà-vu. Lunch Lady had been the first ghost I had fought with my powers, now she was going to be the first ghost I captured for Clockwork.

Clockwork said that the Observants had been watching her for some time and wanted to bring her in for questioning on something, he wouldn't tell me what. I really didn't care; I didn't understand those eyeballs at all.

I felt something vibrate in my coat pocket and I pulled out my watch. I opened it up and Clockwork's face was in the visor.

"Come home Daniel, I need to speak with you before I send you off," he said, disappearing before I could say a word.

"That's my cue to leave," I said standing up. "See you when I get back guys."

Cara told me good-bye and the other two waved as I flew off.

"Are you ready?" Clockwork asked me.

"Yeah, I got the key idea of it," I said, shrugging my shoulders back into my coat and making sure I had everything I needed. "Go in, get the ghost, get out."

"Be more specific, this is important," Clockwork told me.

"Go in, establish a base where I can stay in the human world for long periods of time, wait until night, track down Lunch Lady, grab said Lunch Lady and return to you," I sighed out.

We had gone over the plan a million times already, I was anxious to get going.

"And how are you going to establish your base?" Clockwork asked—we hadn't gone over that.

"Uh, I don't know," I said, rubbing the back of my neck in uncertainty.

"Might I suggest putting those shape-shifting powers to good use?" Clockwork asked me, smiling as if he was hiding something.

I blinked at him, but nodded. He slide out of the way and I jumped through the viewing mirror and back into Amity Park.

The town looked the same as it always had to me. It was dusk here so I guessed it was around 6:30 at night. It was chilly out and a light blanket of snow covered the ground so the days would be shorter than they would be in the summer.

I flew around invisible, thinking about what Clockwork said about using my shape-shifting, but what for? I heard a clang from below and looked down to see a stray dog roaming the alley way, digging through a dumpster for a scrap of a meal. Of course! No one would look twice at a stray, and some people would feed it outside and let it roam wild without thinking twice about it!

I quickly landed in the alley, spooking the dog into running away, and focused my energy onto my form. In no time, I was no longer a ghost, but a sleek black Siamese cat, trotting its way down the sidewalk as darkness descended on the town.

"The perfect cover," I murmured to myself—I would have to remember to make cat sounds so no one would pick me up and dissect me.

My ears perked up and I felt the ground shake underneath my paws. I heard the screeching of tires and instantly recognized the sound. I jumped out of the way and onto a flower bed in a nearby window as the RV came zooming by and making a nice black mark on the sidewalk where I had been standing a moment ago. The vehicle came to a screeching halt as the driver's side door flew open and Jack Fenton jumped from his seat, wielding the Jack-O-Nine-Tales in his large hands. Maddie came out of the passenger seat, holding a Fenton Bazooka and her Fenton Lipstick, doing a quick touch up before kicking ghost butt.

I stayed hidden in the Bachelor-Buttons.

"Where is it!?" Jack bellowed, looking around frantically for the ghost.

"I don't know," Maddie said, rechecking the Fenton Finder on her hip. "It said that a ghost was here a moment ago."

The window behind me opened and I looked up to see a rather irritated Mr. Lancer stick his head out to see what the commotion was about.

"_The Scarlet Letter_!" he yelled, waving his fist at the Fentons. "What are you two doing here!? Don't you know how to leave respectable people alone?"

"We're sorry Mr. Lancer," Maddie said, since Jack looked like he was still mulling Mr. Lancer's words in his head, "but our sensors picked up a ghost near here. We were only thinking of your safety."

"The only thing that needs protecting around here are my flowers from wild animals!" he glared down at me and raised his hand. "Get out of there you nasty vermin."

I jumped out of the flower bed before Mr. Lancer brought his hand down to swat at me. I turned around, hissed promptly at him, and stalked away past the Fentons and down the street, hoping that their tech couldn't pick up on me. It didn't. I theorized that since I was half human, anything that was earth related brought out my human DNA and masked my ghost signature—I would have to be extra careful in ghost form if their sensors could pick me up so easily and quickly.

They ignored me as I walked past them and I looked back to make sure that their sensors hadn't changed their minds. It was odd to see them like this, but I also didn't feel any longing to be with them. I had gotten use to the idea of who and what I really was that I had given up hope to ever reunite with my human family. They wouldn't know me at all, not even recognize me if they did remember me, and strangely, I didn't feel sad or lost about it. For once I was at peace with myself, and happy with my life, and now that I think about it, something had always seemed wrong when I was with the Fentons. I was still fond of them though and hoped that I could make friends with them—eventually.

I turned back and trotted down the sidewalk, turning the corner on the block and looking for a place to wait out the night. It would be easier to track Lunch Lady down in the morning since ghosts rarely came out during the day. Ghosts that sucked up pure negative energy couldn't stand the sun, but Lunch Lady wasn't purely evil, just had anger management issues.

I found a spot to curl up for the night. It was in a tight corner of a stoop, some of the long grass was able to hide me and the darkness that was coming on would help with the rest of it.

I was half way asleep when I heard footsteps drawing closer to me and looked up to see a very familiar face looking down on me from the stoop steps.

"Awe, poor little thing," Sam said, coming off of the stoop to my side.

I didn't move, I was too shocked to move. How didn't I remember that this was Sam's house?!

Sam knelt down and patted me on the head gently. Of course my crush on her was still there and I purred in delight that she was touching me so tenderly. I gave in to her hand and rolled on my said, letting her rub my belly with her warm fingers. Oh yeah! Sometimes it paid off to be a lowly animal.

She scooped me up in her arms, scratching me under my chin.

"You're beautiful," she said kindly, but not baby-talk—that so wouldn't be Sam. "Why don't you come in and I'll feed you."

Sam had always been taking in stray animals without her parents knowing about it. This gesture didn't surprise me, but now I saw why Clockwork wanted me to use this power. I could come to Sam's whenever I wanted when I was forced to spend a night on earth. She would take me in without question, feed me, and make sure I was comfortable. It beat sleeping in a box tonight, that was for sure.

Sam opened her door and looked both ways before coming in and putting her bag on the floor. She held me tightly in her arms, but not so tight that it hurt. I'm sure she just didn't want me to run off and get myself lost in her mansion. I didn't hear her parents anywhere though as she walked up the stairs headed towards her room. She set me on her lavender comforter and looked me over, as if admiring something.

"Wow, you're big," she said, her purple eyes large with wonder and awe. "I'll be right back."

With that, she was out the door again, making sure to shut it so I couldn't get out. I sat on the bed to wait for her and looked around the room. It looked the same to me—dark, black, depressing—perfect Gothic-Sam touch. I almost felt right at home here.

Sam came back and was shocked to see that I hadn't moved an inch from my spot on the bed. I could smell what she brought with her though and my mouth watered. Broiled steak, swimming in gravy and egg-yolk. I jumped from the bed and looked up at her, waiting for my food. Sam was still a vegetarian—so far as I knew—so I knew that the steak wasn't for her.

"Alright, settle down," she told me, even though I was just pacing and not making a sound.

She set the plate down on the floor and I flew towards it, gobbling it down with vigor.

"Wow, you're really hungry, no wonder you're so skinny," Sam studied me. "You're really mangy looking too; I'll have to give you a bath."

My tail shot up at that. Now that I was a cat, I had cat instincts, and instincts told me that water was not good. I had already licked the plate clean and was about to crawl under the bed, but Sam caught me first.

The bath was horrible. I knew I shouldn't have worried so much, but it's a known fact that cats hate water. I tried really hard not to turn around and jump out, I could accidently scratch her if I tried that. The water itself wasn't bad, it was the scrubbing that I hated. Sam's nails were sharp, even if she didn't realize it. She dug the shampoo so deep into my fur that I thought I would be bald when I got out. Water was all over Sam's bathroom floor when I got out. I shook my fur loose and Sam rubbed me semi-dry with a towel. She got out her hairdryer next and blew the rest of my fur dry—I liked that part actually; the air was really warm!

"Now all I have to do is get my parents to agree to keep you," she said, setting me back on the bed and brushing my fur flat. "You're a handsome animal and mom is always going on about how she would like some sort of animal around the house. We can't have a dog because she hates dogs, but I know she loves cats. All you have to do is be sweet on her."

_No problem,_ I thought.

"You'll have to curl up with her when she reads and stuff, like how cats are supposed to act. She had a childhood cat that she loved to death—until it died that is. I just hope she lets me pick the name—you're so not a Captain Puffy Boots."

_Oh god in heaven no! Anything but that._

"I hope my dad doesn't say he wants to get you fixed."

_Okaaaaaay, that name is sounding lovely right now. Maybe I should rethink this plan._

I didn't need to think long. Sam started to get undressed for bed—now seriously, can you blame me!? I watched as she peeled off her clothes one-by-one, noticing that her hair was slightly longer then I remembered. She put on her P.J.s, skimpy black things that I adored, and snuggled into bed. I got up and licked her nose, folding my legs under me and squeezing my eyes shut.

"Night boy," she whispered, turning over and sighing.

"Night Sam," I whispered even lower then her and snuggled into the small of her back.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Okay two things--1) yes Siamese cats can be black--my mother had one when she was in college. 2) From TUE I knew that Danny could change his form, I also knew that Bertrand could change into human and animal forms--so it's JUSTIFIED!! **


	6. Lunch & Ghosts

**I tried uploading this like eight times--but something's wrong wtih one of our lap tops. So I used my own and what do you know! It worked. Anyway, this is a short chapter--but it's in Sam's POV (now you know why I put that on there with the chapter name all of the time) so there wasn't that much to tell. Let me know how it worked out! **

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 5—Sam's POV—Lunch & Ghosts

School sucked. It was filled with all of those brainless clones of the populars—and let's not forget the populars themselves. Paulina Sanchez: the shallowest witch to ever walk this side of the country, and Dash Baxter: a brainless ape who knew next to nothing except how to pass on the field. I avoided them as much as possible, but for some reason they always found a way to come over and bait me. Sometimes I would have comebacks of my own, other times I ignored them completely, and other times I would sock a fist into one of their faces if they had it coming. I only punched the guys though, they were too scared to tell anybody that they had gotten a bloody nose by a girl. The best I could do with the girls was play pranks on them and look innocent.

"So, what kind of death trap is Paulina going to find herself in today?" my best friend Tucker asked, getting poised to write down the time in his PDA so he would be sure not to miss it.

"Actually, I have more important things to do today," I said, keeping a tight grip on my backpack, and the cargo it held.

Tucker looked confused and a little horrified.

"What's more important than torturing Paulina to you? Are you sick or something?"

"You're the one that's sick," I said, pointing at him as the bus bounced along. "You don't stop me from pulling those stunts because you think you can go in and comfort Paulina—or at least her satellite."

Tucker shrugged and went back to his tech.

"Tuck, I got to show you something," I whispered, opening the top of my bag. "You got to see what I found."

Tucker leaned in and started when a pair of bright green eyes popped up from the depths of my bag. The cat's black ears swerved forward to take the black boy in, the big eyes blinking once before trying to make its way out. I grabbed him gently and put him back in the bag, stroking his neck to make him stay put.

"Sam, what is that thing?" Tucker asked, pointing at the cat while at the same time backing away from it.

"It's a cat you moron," I said with a glare. "I found him last night by my stoop."

"And you're going to keep it aren't you?" Tucker didn't look pleased. "You're parents aren't going to let you."

"Actually, Mom might let me, it's my dad I'm worried about. Mom likes cats; she says that it makes people look regal and smart if they own a cat. Once she gets a look at him, there's no way she'll say no."

Tucker took a second look at the black feline.

"Well, he is big," Tucker mused. "He looks like he belongs in some rich person's house."

"I know," I stuffed the cat's head back down in the bag and closed the top. "I have to keep him in my locker because my parents would flip if they found him in the house without me there to explain it. Promise to help me today?"

I gave the puppy dog eyes—a sure fire way to make Tucker agree to something he did not want to do. He groaned and shut his eyes as if trying to shut out the image.

"Fine!" he finally gave in, "but if anyone finds him, it's your fault."

I only smiled in triumph.

The bus stopped and I looked out to see that we were already at Casper High. I sighed, slinging my bag carefully onto my shoulder and walked off the vehicle and onto the dry grass of the school grounds. Tucker followed me and we both hurried inside the school. It was extremely cold out for early November—we had already had three snowfalls and the latest one wasn't even done melting yet.

"Oh no!" Tucker yelled, falling to his knees in dramatic despair.

The other kids ignored him, use to his theatrics.

"What is it this time Tuck?" I asked rolling my eyes.

"They changed the menu!" Tucker whined, pointing at the board where most of the notices were placed for the students to look at.

"It's only for the week Tucker," I said, grabbing his arm and pulling him to his feet. "Besides, you could use a change in diet."

"No I don't! I'm a full-blooded carnivore—I need meat to survive!"

"Even some carnivores have to eat plants when food is scarce and they can't find anything to hunt," I retorted, dragging him down the hall. "We'll talk about this later, right now we need to get to class."

I placed the cat in my locker, shoving what books I didn't need in there with him.

"I'll be back soon okay?" I told him.

He sat down and blinked up at me, as if he understood. I shut the door, turned my lock, grabbed a still distraught Tucker, and hurried down the hall to our first class.

I hadn't been able to talk Tucker into anything by the time lunch rolled around. I had dropped by my locker to feed the cat and grab my own lunch. Being a Vegetarian, I often brought my own lunch. I didn't trust the school system to provide actual healthy food—it was always brown, mushy, and smelled like dead fish.

Tucker was almost in a comatose state when we walked in the cafeteria and saw the line for food. Most of the kids had already sat down with nothing in front of them. I caught sight of some of the stuff they were serving and it didn't look any different than before, only now it had pieces of broccoli floating in it.

"Oh, the horror!" Tucker whined, as I dragged him to our regular table.

"Sit down," I told him, "and quiet down. You can split with me okay?"

"Who wants your grass-on-a-bun?"Tucker asked, blinking in confusion. "I wouldn't touch that stuff even if my life depended on it."

The next table down was emptied of one more occupant as he rushed to the bathroom to puke, only he didn't reach the doors in time and hurled in the trash. I turned back to Tucker and gave him a questioning look. He lowered his eyes to my food.

"You going to eat that?" he asked in a deadpan voice, pointing at something in my lunch box—I don't think he really cared what it was.

"Excuse me deary."

I turned around in my seat to see one of the lunch ladies talking to me. She seemed nice enough, only her skin was an odd green pallor and she gave off some kind of glow. (I always knew that the lunch meat was radioactive!) Her white hair was pulled back in a hairnet and she wore the same outfit as the rest of the lunch ladies wore—an ugly pink serving suit with a white apron and yellow gloves.

"Yes?" I asked her.

"Do you know why they changed the menu?" she asked me, looking innocent but I felt something really odd going on when she was near me.

"Uh, isn't that something you guys would know?" I asked her.

Actually this might have something to do with my letter to the principle, but Tucker didn't need to hear that.

"Lunch Lady," a new voice came into our conversation.

He was behind the woman and walked up to the side of her to look her more squarely in the face. His entire outfit was black—he had on a long coat with an odd symbol on each edge of the collar, a white shirt underneath a light grey durable-looking vest, pants that were a tad lighter then the coat (which was pure black), and boots in an odd design; almost looking like something from a different century. His hair was an ebony mess on top of his head, but that didn't have anything on his eyes—a pulsing neon green, but he kept them away from us so we couldn't see them clearly.

"Oh, high deary," the lunch lady said to him.

"Lunch Lady, this is your last warning. Come back with me or you're going back the hard way," the guy said, his fingers curling up into a fist by his side.

"Just tell me why there isn't any meat on the menu," the woman said, her eyes narrowing at the teen.

"It's none of your concern," the teen said. "Now come with me."

"Perish!" the woman shouted, her voice changing from sweet to sinister in an instant.

She was suddenly lifted into the air and was pulling cooking utensils from the kitchen, aiming them at the boy beside us.

"Look out!" I shouted, jumping up and pushing him out of the way of the missiles.

We both landed on the floor unharmed, but I instantly backed away when I touched him. He was freezing! Even the inside of my parents' walk-in freezer was warmer than his skin. It was then that I got a look directly at his eyes. They had no pupil—just a sea of stormy green as he looked back into my face.

"You both shall die!" the lunch lady screamed.

Of course this got kids looking and—when they saw the stoves jumping from the walls and walking towards us—they screamed and ran in a wild panic. Tucker just sat at the table, looking at me and the boy under me dumbly.

The boy shoved me away just before a knife I hadn't seen pinned my skull to the floor. His hands began to glow green and he—shot—something out of them, like a ray or something. He got up, floating on the woman's level, his long coat flowing behind him by the unnatural wind that had gathered in the cafeteria.

"Stop this!" the boy commanded.

The Lunch Lady responded my throwing her fist out to punch him, but he dodged expertly. While he dodged, he brought out something from his belt—it looked like a pair of odd handcuffs. Lunch Lady swiped at him again, but he went over her head and ended up facing her back. He grabbed one of her wrists and slammed the hand-cuffs on it. He wrenched the other one around and slammed the other end of the cuffs on her wrist.

Lunch Lady howled in rage as her power seemed to have been cut off. The stoves and sharp objects that had been floating now fell to the floor with several thunks and clatters. The stoves were damaged when they fell, chipping the floor and looking to be deflated.

"NO!" I heard the woman scream after I turned to look at the things falling from the air to make sure I wasn't hit by anything.

"Lunch Lady, you've been ordered to appear before the Observants," the teen said with authority. "Your appearance is not an option."

The Lunch Lady wrestled the teen's grip as he floated over to the wall that lead outside, and took them both through the wall, ghost-style.

"Were those just—" I gaped, not being able to finish my sentence.

"GHOSTS!" Tucker screamed, then promptly fainted on the floor.


	7. Stumbles & Starts

**Okay, I know this chapter is long overdue and extreamly short--but I had writers block and I had an exam and a speech to prepare for all in the same week. Anyway, I'll getting the next part of Probable up soon. You're just going to have to wait on Grey and Searching because I'm not really sure where those are going at the moment--but they will get done sometime in this lifetime--PROMISE!!**

**Let's get the fuzzy ghost-loving now!**

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 6—Jazz's POV—Stumbles & Starts

No one could explain the havoc and wreckage of the cafeteria from a week ago. Of course my father blamed it on ghosts. My mother got testimonies of a couple of students—one of which swore it was ghosts—then she followed my dad and started to run tests on everything. I kept myself distanced from it all, not wanting any part of it.

Believing in ghosts was absurd; there was more proof for me to believe in aliens. At least that is a scientific possibility. Ghosts are just myth and urban legends to scare kids into doing what their parents want. I never believed in them and I wasn't about to. I just blamed the mayhem on the food; at least that was plausible.

I apologized for my parents' behavior yet again before I finally convinced them to stop what they were doing and go home. The rest of the week I had been ridiculed and prodded at by everyone, even my friends. The only two that didn't join in were Sam Manson and Tucker Foley—a couple of freshmen that kept to themselves mostly. They also seemed preoccupied with their own troubles, but I didn't pay any attention to them. I shrugged off the words and went on with my school work—like I was supposed to. The sooner I got out of this rotten town the sooner I could build a name for myself and separate myself from my obsessive parents.

"Hey Jazzy Pants!" my dad called out as I came down the stairs with my purse in hand.

"I'm going to the Library," I told him as I went out the door.

I'm sure I hurt him by just walking by him like that, but I was still mad at him and my mom for earlier. A threat of going in the memoir didn't work very effectively any more.

I got in my car and started the ten minute drive into town. Halfway there, I spotted a sleek black cat jumping from a house window. I caught its massive green eyes and I had to stop the car and stare. I had never seen anything like it before. It was big, muscular, and graceful all at the same time. It stared back at me as it heard my car come to a stop. It only blinked at me then continued its way by jumping onto the fence and back into the alley and out of sight.

I waited for a moment, as if I expected it to come back, then continued on my own way. I stayed at the Library for about two hours before I wanted escape. I decided to go next door to the local coffee shop and read my book there. It wasn't that I didn't like the Library or anything, I just needed a change of scenery and the coffee shop was a new place to try. In a small town, 'new' wasn't a word you heard often.

I had just walked out of the Library when I spotted that black cat again. It was sitting down at the corner across the street, watching me. I found myself drawn to it like before at the house; its eyes dragging me forwards. I didn't know how accurate those words were until I actually found myself on the other side of the street and picking the cat up in my arms.

"Oh, you're so handsome," I crooned to it—wondering how I knew it was a guy.

I got a purr in response. I couldn't just leave the poor thing out here alone. What if it got into something? Or something got it? I knew where it lived so I put it in my car and I drove back home. I stopped at the house and put the cat on the sidewalk. It looked back up at me as if to thank you, then it jumped up the fence and back into the house via the open window—the exact reverse of what it had done earlier.

"Creepy," I said to myself as I walked back to my car. "That was just totally weird, but I better journal it."

I found that journaling things helped me with speech ideas and stories for my English class. This would certainly make an interesting topic.

I was waiting for my dad to pick me up from school. It was his way of apologizing to me for converting my car into something he called the Spector Speeder—it would be used for a good cause he claimed! Gallivanting through a make-believe world is not a good cause in my book.

"Hey babe!"

I turned around to see who had called me—since a number of the jocks at school called me babe and I was the only thing on this side of the block that capable of responding to such a call—and saw a biker. His cycle wasn't running, but it looked like he was ready to take off. He wasn't wearing a helmet—oh that was smart!—so his greasy blond hair couldn't be hidden. He seemed like something that jumped right out of the movie _Grease _or something relatively similar.

"Need a ride?" he asked me, looking harmless enough, but I knew better then to trust a strange guy.

"My dad should be here soon," I said, looking down the street to try and catch a glimpse of the monster that was the Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle.

I saw it, but it wasn't heading my direction.

"GHOST!!!" I could hear my father screaming as he plowed through the streets after some unseen creature.

I sighed and looked back at the guy. He gave me a knowing smirk. Everyone in Amity Park knew who the Fentons were, and unfortunately, I was one of them.

"I don't bite," he said, handing me the helmet that had been hidden on the back of the bike.

"Alright," I said, taking his offer of the helmet, "I'm sure you can find it."

He laughed as he revved up the bike and I climbed on, straddling my book bag between the two of us. It was oddly smooth on the bike; he seemed to handle it was ease as we weaved through traffic as if it wasn't there. I swore he took out a side-mirror on a minivan, but when I looked back it hadn't been touched. I guess we hadn't been as close to it as I had thought.

"What's your name babe?" he asked me over the roar of his vehicle.

"Jazz!" I yelled. "Yours?"

"Johnny, but everyone calls me 13."

"Why?"

"You could say I'm a bit of a jinx."

And that was the start of my relationship with him.


	8. Rules & Rings

**Hey ya'all! I've gotten tons of positive reviews on this and you guys have made it the most popular in my stack of fics! I just had to write this as soon as possible--meaning I spent maybe two hours total writing this. Anyway, I like how this one turned out--so good reading. Oh, and for you Jack lovers--this is for you! **

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 7—Danny's POV— Rules & Rings

Jazz had become my priority over the week. With the cafeteria fiasco, Sam's parents had put her under a full lockdown—so she decided it was better to keep me secret and let me come and go as I please from her room window. This let me roam freely of my own accord, giving me more freedom to look out for ghosts who weren't supposed to be there. I was also on thin ice with the Observants. Of course, my exposing myself to the whole student body was not a good way to get on their good side. I had only managed to sink deeper into trouble with them. Clockwork said it was better if I just stayed where I was, let chance of a homicide in the Ghost Zone, and it gave him time to cool their jets. Meanwhile, I could spy on the Fentons and see what was happening in the world of ghost weaponry.

I hadn't expected to run into Jazz twice that night, it was good thing that I did. After running into her after I jumped from the window to go to the Fenton household, I had found out that getting into the house was going to be harder than I thought. I tried sneaking in through the basement window—the one that Jack always left open just in case a ghost couldn't find a way in and he couldn't catch it—but when I saw the plasma gun perfectly perched in plain sight by the window, I thought better of it. Needless to say, this left me with fewer options.

I had decided to sneak in as a cat—less chance of being shot at—so there were even fewer ways to get in. I couldn't phase through the walls—ecto-protection-coating was plastered everywhere like a thick paint. The front door was out because of the sensors—I would be fried. Couldn't jump up the tree in the backyard to the windows, they were locked and it was harder to phase through glass. I was stuck on options.

When I ran into Jazz again, I saw my opportunity to get in. I was planning on jumping up to her window late at night so that she would let me in—she always felt sorry for fluffy things—and then I could sneak down to the lab without a problem. I didn't count on 13 picking her up from school—and every single day for the rest of the week.

"Not good," I shook my head as I watched 13 drop Jazz off at the doorstep of Fenton Works that Friday. "What's his deal?"

I was currently in my normal form, leaning on the edge of the roof of the building. I didn't bother being invisible since no one ever looked up, most people avoided looking up at the op's center anyway. I figured that I should investigate further, this whole thing was pushing me off the edge.

Jazz went inside and 13 revved his bike again to get it started. He took off down the street with unreal speed—fortunately, I could match it without much of a challenge. He was headed out of town, towards the wildlife reserve. I decided to make myself known.

"13!"

He came to a halt, looking up in confusion.

"Yeah, what's it to ya?" he asked me, glaring when he saw just exactly what I was.

"Why are you leading on a human girl?" I asked him, sending him my own glare as I floated down to his level. "That has got to be one of the largest taboos that I know of."

"None of your business," he said starting to leave me in the dust, but I grabbed his arm.

"Yes it is," I felt my eyes burn as my anger started to surface.

He wrenched out of my grip, making me take a step back to give his bony elbow some room. As expected, Shadow came out of his hiding spot.

Shaping ectoplasm was no longer a daunting task for me. My green energy was bright enough to keep the angry negative-sucking shadow away from me as I encased it in my own box of light—boy the Box Ghost would be proud of that pun. 13 looked at me as if I was an alien.

"How did you know he was there?" 13 asked.

"You're a symbiot's dream ghost," I said, pointing at him. "You're practically powerless by yourself, but if you have another ghost to do the fighting for you while it sucks the energy you take from the human world. . . " I trailed off, not really needing to explain further for him.

"You're smart," he told me, "but you can't catch me."

"I don't want to catch you, I just want to know what you're doing with the Fenton girl," I was becoming extremely irritated at him.

"Who says I'm doing anything to her?"

"Ghosts and humans don't hang out together, and if they did, one wouldn't hide the fact that he's not human," I pointed out, a bit sharper then I intended.

"Get out of my business," 13 said with warning. "I don't care who you work for, but I'm not doing anything to send any of the Ancients' paper boys at me."

I was going to retort, but he was right. I had no viable reason to go after him other then he was hanging around a human girl. As hard as it is to believe, the Ghost Zone does have rules that the Observers put up. I follow the ones that Clockwork follows since some of them don't apply to us, but this one—unfortunately—did.

13 smirked at me as I let his shadow out of its prison.

"Stay away from her," I growled out.

13 only glared as a response, I knew he wasn't going to heed my warning. I sensed some major butt kicking in his future.

13 went his own way and I went mine—back to the Manson Mansion. On second thought though, I flew over to Fenton Works to see if Jazz was in her room. She was, working hard at some sort of paper for school. I morphed in midair and landed on the window ledge, startling Jazz out of her current train of thought. She must have been really into it because she looked around as if she was curious as to where she was before noticing me in the window.

"It's you," she said in wonder, coming over to the window and opening it.

I jumped inside her room and went straight for under the bed. Jazz followed me and got on her hands and knees to try and pull me out from under her bed, but I was too far over in center for her to make a good grab.

"My parents are going to have a cow when they realized a cat is in here," she said, more grumbling to herself then to me. "Dad's going to swear that you're a ghost and try and capture you."

I had no doubts that Jack would think that and do just that. I curled up into myself, my tail flicking every-so-often with my contented mood. It was actually pretty warm under the bed. After a half hour, Jazz gave up on trying to get a hold of me and sighed bitterly.

"Fine, see if I care that you're insides will be spilling out on the kitchen table."

_That's disgusting, _I thought, feeling like I needed to hack up a hairball.

I waited there for hours, hoping that the household would fall asleep soon. Jack's snores and repetitive murmur of _ghost _was my calling card of freedom—at one in the morning. Well, I would spend the day sleeping in Sam's room tomorrow.

Crawling out from under the bed, I morphed back into my true form, standing up and taking a look at Jazz sleeping in her bed. She didn't stir as my presence slightly dropped the temperature. I quietly sank through the floor and into the lab. It was the same as I remembered it being, a giant hole in the wall that was the Fenton Portal was closed—thankfully. From what I could gather, the Fentons had succeeded into making a working portal the first time they tried, so it was in use and ghosts would be coming frequently from it. _Great! _

I looked around the lab, finding nothing that I saw familiar. I saw the start of the Fenton Ghost Weasel on one of the many lab tables there and beakers that were filled with test samples of something—but it wasn't ectoplasm. It was pretty quiet here, but something just didn't feel right.

The feeling grew heavier for me as it approached the Fenton Portal. It felt, wrong. That's the only word I can say to describe the feeling. I felt knocked off course as I came closer, yet I also knew that I had to do something to know it back into place—whatever it was. Could this be some sort of new power for me?

I was stupid enough to reach out my hand to touch the portal to see if I could sense what was wrong with it. I barely got close enough to brush it with my fingertips when that alarm went off. I knew it was suppose to be harmful to ghosts, the slight ringing in my ears proved that, but my human side protected me from most of its effects. It was the feeling from the portal that felt the worst to me.

"GHOST!!!!"

"Oh crap," I said, hearing Jack's signature battle cry.

His lumbering steps were next as he got out of bed and raced to the stairs. I heard various phrases of _ow _as I heard giant thumps of his body tumbling down the stairs.

"AHH! OH! EECK! OUCH! GORGIA! MOTHER!"

It was silent after the crash landing at the bottom of the stairs. Above the alarm, I heard the stray sounds of a coo-coo clock winding down and the slight tinkling of glass breaking. He must have run into the clock by the door.

"I'M OKAY!!!"

"What am I doing?" I asked myself.

I phased through the floor, coming back up on the other side of the house. I stood near the open window as I heard the door crashing open and Jack bounding in, Maddie behind him, and a sleepy Jazz trailing behind her parents. Jack, of course, was blinded. He had the clock on his head and was blasting his ecto-gun in totally random directions, destroying most of the lab with it. Maddie found the button on the wall and turned the alarm off, and Jack stopped blasting everywhere.

"WHAT?! DID WE GET HIM!!??"

"No Jack," Maddie sighed while yawning. "It was another false alarm. You should really close that window so animals stop coming in here."

"Awe," Jack sighed with dejection, his once bright face falling into a frown of disappointment. "I wanted to catch the ghost."

"I know dear," Maddie patted his arm. "Come on, let's go back upstairs and I'll fix you some milk and warm fudge."

"You know just how to perk me up Mads," Jack smiled again.

Jazz had already gone back to bed after hearing _false alarm_. I watched the two adults climb up the stairs and shut the lab down for the second time that night. The portal was still giving me a weird feeling though. I had to do something about it, I just felt inclined to straighten the tangle out, as it were.

I managed to sneak in the next night. I disabled the ghost alarm first before stepping foot into the lab. I flew straight to the portal and put my hand on it, not afraid if it activated some sort of backup alarm. The feeling was so overpowering that I didn't realized that I had phased through the doors. Something was wrong on the other side.

I stuck my head in and gasped to see Kitty floating there, unconscious and barely stable.

"She's stuck between worlds," I murmured, wondering why I wasn't affects by the straight of the atmosphere like Kitty was.

I brought my head back out and flipped my watch out—I needed help.

"Clockwork?" I called into the device.

His face appeared right away, as if expecting the call.

"Yes Daniel?" he asked me.

"Kitty's stuck between here and the Ghost Zone," I informed him, "and her weirdo boyfriend is hanging around Jazz—uh the Fentons' daughter. What's the connection?"

"13 could be trying to get Jazz to wear Kitty's stuff," Clockwork said. "That sounds like Kitty anyway."

"Why wear her stuff?" I asked. "I remembered that's what happened last time, but I never did find out what was going on."

"Kitty can reform around a human; switching places as it were. When her host grows weak, she'll move onto the next one, leaving the old one to die. As long as her stuff contains her energy, she can live on in a human's body. Her form is not stable like 13's, but as you had pointed out to him earlier, 13 has his own weaknesses. The need to constantly renew their energy makes them very dangerous to humans."

"And now that Kitty his fading, 13 is going to get Jazz to be the new host," I realized. "I've got to stop him."

"Daniel wait! You can't go after him."

"What!? Why the hell not!?"

"Watch your language," he warned me sternly, the only fatherly thing I had seen him do for months. "As I was saying, you can't go after 13 because he isn't breaking any laws."

"He's going to destroy Jazz!"

"But he can. You can only interfere if he physically hurts her. Using her as a host will destroy her humanity and spirit yes, but he won't hurt her to where she is in pain. It will be like she's asleep. The Observants would have stopped them long ago if they were breaking any of their regulations."

"This is nuts!"

"The Observants only have the interests of _ghost _needs in mind, never humans. They just don't want exposure, and that does mean not to mess with humans in a large population. 13 and Kitty have laid low for years, only going there if they need to renew energy. If Kitty needs a new host, then the Observants won't interfere because it's what Kitty needs to survive. One human sacrifice is nothing to them."

"Well it is to me."

"Me as well Daniel, they don't realized just how much one person can do in the world, and that makes them all special and valuable to Time and the Universe itself."

"What am I going to do? If I can't go after 13, then what can I do?" I said helplessly, my anger dissipating and being replaced by despair.

"Don't give up hope yet," Clockwork said, seeing my dread. "You're only seeing it from one angle. What else can you do? How many variables are there in this problem?"

"Don't talk Math," I groaned, but it did get me thinking. "If I can't get 13 . . . then maybe I can help get Kitty out of there. If she's free then 13 doesn't have to make Jazz into a zombie."

"It's just right down here Johnny."

I gasped when I heard Jazz's voice. She was bringing that scum-bag down here?

I turned invisible and moved over to the far wall. Jazz was wearing Kitty's scarf and red jacket. I remembered the ring—that had to be the last piece of Kitty's objects—and the last piece to seal Jazz's fate. I had no time to free Kitty, but I could provide a distraction.

"Listen kitten," 13 said, holding Jazz's hand and looking into her eyes—that made me want to gag, "I was wondering, if you wanted to be my girl."

He held up the ring from his pocket and Jazz gasped in surprise.

"You want to go steady? That is so old-school," she cried in that girl voice I never got.

"Yeah, about 60 years old-school."

They both gasped as I appeared out of nowhere. Jazz of course had no idea what was going on, but 13 looked ready to blow his top.

"You?!" he yelled.

"The name's Phantom," I said, pulling back my coat flaps and putting my hands in my pants' pockets. "How have you been 13?"

"Who is this Johnny?" Jazz asked, looking weirded out.

"He's no one babe," 13 reassured his _girl._

"Oh come on buddy," I said, walking up to him and putting my arm around his shoulders like we were old friends. "Is that any way to treat me? After all we've been through?"

I knew I was hamming it up, but the more the better.

"Wait a minute," Jazz said, looking angry, "are you gay?"

"What?! No!" 13 tried to defend himself.

Even I smirked at that one. I had no idea Jazz's mind could leap to such dirty conclusions.

"Get out of here punk," 13 grabbed my wrist and threw me away from them, "before you regret it."

I knew he was really saying that I had better go so we didn't expose ourselves to a human. I had to agree with him on that, plus I was done here.

"Okay okay," I rushed, heading for the stairs. "Jeez, and you think you know a guy!"

I closed the door to the lab and smirked in success.

"Oh Johnny-boy," I said, shaking my head and holding up Kitty's ring in my fingers next to my eyes, "you poor naïve spook. You have no idea who you're dealing with."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**So Jack right? **


	9. Fights & Powers

**I know it's short, but it's a good one. I actually have him fight 13 now! **

* * *

**_Chapter 8—Danny's POV—Fights & Powers_**

Johnny was pissed. Well no—he was more than pissed—but I can't really think of a word that describes his mood. He was like a rabid lion really, practically foaming at the mouth in his anger as he sped into me on the power-lines above the Fenton home. I had no warning and was knocked to the ground, creating a small crater in the street when I landed.

"Not good," I mumbled as I got back up to my feet, only to be taken down again by that stupid shadow.

It swiped at my face and got in a few scratches before I threw my arm at it and sent it sprawling onto the asphalt. My cheek stung from where the claws caught me, but other than that, I was fine.

"You got some guts kid," 13 said, his voice a gargled imitation of what it had been—a rather scratchy and frightening imitation.

"Thanks," but I didn't sound thankful, "listen, just give me some time. I can free your girlfriend."

"How do you know about Kitty!?"

I saw the shadow get back up from its prone placement on the ground. 13's anger was fueling this thing.

"I'm different from the others," was all I said, but I truly wouldn't know how different until that night. "There's no need to take the girl's life 13. I can save Kitty's body."

"Or what's left of it," 13 hissed. "I'm through talking with you delivery boy."

I saw Shadow attack me from the corner of my eye. I raised a shield like lightening and my attacker hit it like a bug on a windshield. Shadow fell to the ground again, out-cold for a few good hours, which meant 13 was pretty much powerless. Again, I spoke to soon.

He caught me by surprise and dealt me a good blow to the stomach. I doubled over, pain flaring my insides. I brought my hands away from my stomach for a few seconds to see blood on my hands. I looked up to 13 and saw he had spiked knuckles, still dripping with my blood. He had hit me hard and hit me deep and he knew it.

13 raised his fist for another blow, this time to my side, but I rolled out of the way. The last year of ghost hunting with Sam and Tucker had taught me to roll with the punches, ignore the pain, and get the job done. It was no different here, I was on the defense, looking for an opening as if this was any other night I would spend, along with breaking my curfew.

"Where's your smart mouth now?" 13 asked, smirking as he brought his fist down again.

I caught his fist in my own hand and stood up, forcing his arm to twist painfully and him to grimace in pain and his eyes to light up in surprise and fear.

"On vacation," I growled, hearing my voice sound almost beastly.

I ignored it and threw 13 across the street, making him hit the side of Fenton Works. Jazz was standing in the open door, her eyes wide in fright and confusion, but more fright. She screamed 13 hit the house hard enough to make some of the bricks pop out from the walls. She was going to run back inside, but 13 grabbed her wrist and she screamed this time in pain. I saw her fear as he twisted her arm behind her back and held her in front of himself like a shield to ward me off.

"Let her go," I demanded, voice sounding normal again.

"Don't think so creep," 13 hissed at me.

Jazz's eyes squinted up in pain as 13 held her arm tighter. I laughed.

"Why are you laughing?" 13 asked in confusion.

"Because you sealed your own doom," I said, smiling darkly at him. "You're harming her physically."

13 looked down on Jazz and then let her go as if she was a leper. Jazz fell to the ground, clutching her injured arm.

"To late 13," I said, balling up my fists as he started to run for his bike. "The deed is done."

Using levitation, I managed to grab 13 and bring him back over to me. Holding him in place was relatively easy considering he wasn't thrashing around, but he was still heavy. I dropped him to the ground at my feet and placed my foot on his chest as he stared at me. He knew I wasn't a normal ghost, he knew I was dangerous, so why did he still do it?

13 looked over at Jazz and then his vision flickered back to Shadow, just now stirring from the ground.

"Shadow, destroy!" he commanded it, pointing at Jazz.

"No!" I shouted, about to leap to her rescue, but 13 grabbed my foot and tackled me.

He held me down, burying my head into the street, making me incapable of going intangible to get out of his grip. I heard Jazz's frightened scream, a blood curdling scream that send me to shaking in rage and fear for her life.

The weight in my chest was back, that feeling of wrong. As if the sides of the scale were tipped to far into shadow. I knew Jazz's death was wrong, I knew she shouldn't die yet, she _couldn't_ die yet. It felt wrong, so wrong that it was as if the universe itself was telling me to stop it from happening.

"SHIFT!!" I screamed, not knowing why I did but the wrong was building up too hot in my chest for me to scream anything coherent.

Then it happened. I saw it with my own eyes. Something repelled Shadow from Jazz, an invisible thing in the air and yet I know I saw something. Almost as if the air itself, or something outside it if that were possible, had bounced him back.

I didn't remember what happened next because I had blacked out.

* * *

**Ohhh, cliffie . . . I'll just be running now. **


	10. Meetings & Prooving

**Yes the chapter is short, but they might be for awhile. I'll try and make the next one longer. **

* * *

**_Chapter 9—Jazz's POV—Meetings & Proving_**

I was really glad that my parents weren't home. They would have beaten them up with the anti-Fenton creep stick for sure, and I wouldn't have stopped them from beating up Johnny—or whatever that thing was. I knew now that he wasn't human, his strength and his cold skin felt ethereal, unnatural. The guy that I had dragged into my house after he collapsed felt the same way, only he wasn't as unnatural. He felt warmer, and more solid then Johnny had. Plus he had protected me, that had to count for something.

I don't know exactly what he did, but it saved me. That black blob was thrown back from me and Johnny had seemed afraid for his life when he saw it. He jumped off the boy as if he was going to catch fire any second and set everything aflame. He had hopped on his bike and fled, not bothering to take his creepy black pet with him. It had followed after a second of realizing it had been left alone. The guy who had saved me was still out cold so I took him in the house and set him on the couch. It had been about an hour and a-half since the fight and he was still unresponsive.

I didn't know what else to do except to wait for him to wake up.

"Oh, that feels like it will bruise."

I looked up from my book and saw him stirring back to life. He was trying to sit up while holding his head with one hand. He looked to be in pain, but only from a headache. I had taken his coat and shirt off to wrap his abdomen, but it had already begun to heal when I did so. Still, it could get infected so I didn't want to take any chances. He noticed that his shirt was off and saw the bandages, then turned his head to see me sitting there.

"You wrapped me up?" he asked, sounding surprised.

"Well, was I supposed to leave you bleeding in the middle of the road?" I asked, but I kept my voice quiet.

"Are you alright?" he asked me.

"I'm fine, you took more of a beating then me."

He nodded and started to look around his body for something. He spotted his shirt and coat hanging on the back of the couch and fished in the pockets of both items until he pulled out a pocket watch. I don't know why he wanted it, it didn't even tell the time.

He looked at me, as if calculating whether he should follow through with his intended plan. He looked back to the watch and flipped it open.

"Father," he called weakly into it.

"Yes Daniel?"

My mouth dropped open to hear someone reply. The voice sounded old, but wise and serene. Had my savior just called him Father?

"I need help," he spoke slowly, as if trying to comprehend what he was trying to say. "I'm disoriented, and confused."

"I know, you were off my radar for a little while," the other sounded worried and confused but calm all at the same time. "Unfortunately, I can't authorize anyone to come and get you."

"But I need to come home," the boy sounded really worried now, almost on the verge of panic. "Something happened, something I don't want happening again. I don't understand it, I need help."

"I'm sorry Daniel, but I can't help you now. I'm just as confused as you are at the moment. When I couldn't see you . . . this perplexes me greatly. Is there a place you can stay at to rest up for a while?"

He looked up to me, question and pleading in his intense green eyes. I nodded to his silent question.

"Yes, but only for a few hours," he talked to the other.

"I'll work on getting Wulf to you, until then, don't move from your position. I lost sight of you once and it can't happen again."

He nodded and closed the watch, ending the conversation.

"Your dad?" I asked, I really didn't know what else to say.

"Yeah, I hope you weren't just nodded to make me feel better."

"No, I can let you into the guest room. Mom and Dad never check it."

"Sounds better than being caught down here," he said, swinging his legs over the side of the couch and attempted to stand up.

I went over to him and helped support his own frame. Making it up the stairs was an effort but we finally managed to do so and he collapsed in the guest bed. He was already back asleep when I returned with his coat and shirt. He looked kind of cute, almost like a fallen angel or something.

I crept out and shut the door behind me; then I realized that I had better get going to bed myself. Surprisingly I managed to sleep right away, but then the events played over again in my head and the shock hit me while I was dreaming. I woke up, sweating and shaking. I was trying to shake the nightmare out of my head when I realized I had a superhuman guest hiding in the other room.

Quietly, I got up and tiptoed out into the hall. If he really was there, I didn't want to wake him. I gripped the knob tightly and slowly turned it, heart pounding with each second. I swung the door open, only to find the room empty.

"It must have been a dream," I said to myself.

At least, that was what I thought, until I saw the bruise on my arm in the glow of the moonlight from the window.


	11. Unknowns & Runes

**Listen Ladies and Gentelmen! I have not one, but TWO new chapters up for you to enjoy. So let the marrimet begin! (and yes I know I spelled that wrong)**

* * *

**_Chapter 10—Danny's POV—Unknowns & Runes_**

"Daniel, can you hear me?"

I groaned in reply to Clockwork's question. My head hurt, like a thousand screaming monkeys were jumping around in there. I was about to sit up, trying to get an idea as to where I was, but a heavy, hairy hand pushed me gently back down to rest. I didn't have the strength to fight it and obeyed somewhat grudgingly.

"Wulf brought you back to the lair," Clockwork informed me.

My sight was a little fuzzy so I couldn't make out his form clearly, but I could tell he was there—his purple robe wasn't hard to miss. The big bulk of Wulf was next to me, his paw still on my chest as if he was afraid I would move and break myself.

"What happened?" I asked, voice husky and tired.

"I don't know," Clockwork hesitated at first, but finally came out with it, "but Dora and I are looking into it. She and Ghost Writer have many archives that might help us figure this mystery out. Until then, don't use that . . . whatever it was."

"I don't know how I used it," I frowned back. "It felt like a reserve, you know, adrenaline you need for a last ditch effort."

"That might help us to narrow it down, but not by much."

"You were worried," it was statement, not a question.

"Yes," Clockwork said and I felt his hand brush through my hair, "more worried then you will ever know. Now get some sleep. Wulf will watch over you."

"I don't need to be babysat," I grumbled, but I was already drifting off again.

The last thing I remember hearing was Wulf asking something in his native tongue, but Clockwork never answered him—well I guess he did, but it was with the slamming of a door.

* * *

From what I understand from the others, I drifted in and out of sleep for a few days. I don't remember much over those days, but my memory picked back up the day before I was released from bed-rest. Dora had been checking up on me every now and then, sort of like my own personal physician, and she was there that day I woke up and managed to stay awake for a few hours before going back to sleep. It just so happened that Cara and Blaze were with her.

"Well Danny, let's sit you up now," Dora instructed after seeing that I was awake and checked a few things—pulse and such.

I did as she said and saw that I was in my own room in Clockwork's tower. Blaze and Cara were at the foot of the bed, looking at me as if I was some kind of stranger. I blinked at them, not having the energy to talk or make an effort to smile.

"You seem fine now," Dora said as if us staring at each other like this wasn't happening. "Just another day in bed and you should be fine. You should eat something though. You're new cook is amazing, you know. I'll get you all something while you talk."

Then she left me alone with two rather confused and pissed off looking teenage girls. I suddenly wished for Skulker to show up and start ranting about how he would have my pelt on his bed. (That is still gross by the way!)

"Why didn't you tell us!?" Cara burst out first.

"Tell you what?" I asked, my mind not up for guessing games at the moment.

"That you're half human," Blaze elaborated calmly.

"I'm not exactly popular here or in the human world because of that," I said after I had a minute to collect my thoughts on the subject. "I wasn't lying to you guys, I just prefer not to talk about it."

Cara looked saddened now, her scarlet eyes looked close to crying. Blaze remained calm and collected, but she looked a little ashamed to bring the subject up after I had said I would rather avoid it.

"Can't help it now," I said leaning back a little closer to the pillows.

"Do you think this has something to do with you being half human?" Cara asked.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"You being sick?"

"Oh, no I don't think so. It was something else, and I'm not about to try and find out what it is."

"So, do you really need to breathe?" Blaze asked.

"I can hold it for a few hours, but yes, eventually," I said, smirking at Cara when I saw her blush.

She must be thinking back to when we first met. Dora came in then with Lunch Lady (which Clockwork hired as our new cook believe it or not) and they set the trays of food down for us to eat.

"Who wants to play a game?" Cara asked as she took a bite of her food.

The adults had left us alone and I'm sure they knew I was dying of boredom.

"We can play some Runes," Blaze said, her hand making a stack of fiery cards appear from nowhere.

"Runes?" I asked, enticed and happy to learn something new.

"Yeah, this is the card game version but it's fun," Cara said and then went into explaining the game.

I spent hours with them, just playing and talking until it became a bit too much and I had to lay back down again. Cara and Blaze left, promising to come back tomorrow when I could get out of bed and do something. I told them I would show them around the tower and that perked her right up—she had never been inside Clockwork's place before and she was just as nosy as Jazz was when she knew there was some poor kid that needed to be psychoanalyzed.

"Wait, Jazz," I was already halfway asleep when I thought about her, but I couldn't beat my body and gave into dreamland.


	12. Thanks & Invites

**Extreamly short, but it will keep the fish biting. (that's you readers if you didn't know. I left it on a bad cliffie, but you can probably guess what will happen in Chapter 12. And don't worry, we'll get back to Sam and Tucker just in time for Halloween!!!) **

* * *

**_Chapter 11—Jazz's POV—Thanks & Invites_**

A week.

It had been a week since I had seen either Johnny or Daniel—I had heard his father call him that and I couldn't just keep calling him 'that kid' forever. To be honest, I was a little worried about him. He seemed so weak when he was here and now he was missing. I'm just glad Mom and Dad weren't home to accuse me of housing a ghost and putting him on the table so they could dissect him.

I wasn't sure if Daniel was a ghost, but I knew he wasn't human. I had already convinced myself that it wasn't a dream. I still had the bruising on my wrist and I found blood in the guest bed from Daniel's wound that I had wrapped up. I made sure to clean it up before my parents could see it.

I just couldn't get the guy off of my mind. I was distracted at school, thinking if he was okay or if he was somewhere wondering the streets for help. I wasn't prone to daydreaming, but I zoned out during most of my classes that week. I'm just glad there wasn't anything totally important for me to mess up.

The library had become my sanctuary as of late, since no one there asked if I was okay constantly like they did at school or at home. I was reading a classic when I felt the room get cold and silent.

"Whatcha reading?"

I turned around to see Daniel there, looking well. He had his color back, or what little he originally had to being with, and he was grinning at me as if he was the cat who had eaten the canary.

"It's you," was all I could utter.

"I just wanted to say thanks," he shrugged as if it was no big deal. "With your parents being ghost hunters and all—it was really kind of you."

"Wait, are you saying that you are a ghost?"

"Yes, but you don't have to believe me. It won't change the truth one bit."

I stared at him as if he had gone crazy. There were no such things as ghosts! However, I think I had to reprioritize my thoughts about the paranormal. The room getting cold was a clue, and it was common ghost myth for a room to drop in temperature if a ghost was near, but that still didn't mean that he was a ghost.

"Uh, I didn't happen to leave anything there did I?" he asked, looking embarrassed.

"Like what?"

"Like a pocket watch, with a 'D' etched into it kind of funny. I can't find it and it's kind of valuable to me."

"I don't know, I didn't see anything," I looked up at the clock and saw that it was nearing six. "My parents won't be home for a few more minutes. We can go now and look if you want."

"Yeah, I'll meet you there."

He vanished before my eyes.

"Invisibility," his disembodied voice said near my ear, "still don't think I'm a ghost?"

My hand flew out and I felt it smack something, hard. I also heard an exclamation from Daniel and his voice was tight, like I had socked him in the nose.

"Serves you right," I said, flinging my backpack to my shoulder, which hit him again, and walking out the door.

He was at the house first, standing outside waiting for my patiently. I unlocked the door and let him in. He made a line for the couch once in and dug under it for something. I bent down to pick up the mail and thumbed through it.

"Found it!" he yelled happily, but I ignored him.

I was busy looking at a rather over-done invitation to my parent's college reunion at the mansion of Vlad Masters. _The _Vlad Masters—named billionaire of the year Vlad Masters. How the heck did my parents know him?!

"Oh, cheese head," I heard Daniel grumble over my shoulder as he looked at the invite.

"Hey, this isn't your mail," I said slamming the invite face down on the table.

"No, but be careful," he warned walking for the door.

"What's that suppose to mean?" I asked, irritated.

"Vlad Masters is not a good guy. Watch your back."

He was gone again before I could ask another question.

"Ghosts!" I yelled in frustration, throwing my hands in the air, then I stopped as I had realized what I had just said. "I _am _turning into my parents!"

That was worse than watching an old B-movie.

* * *

**I am the Cliffie master . . . _FEARM ME!!!_**


	13. Fights & Favors

**_I was busy watching DP episodes online and I remembered that I had to update at least one of these this weekend. It's been busy with starting this new job, having two exams in one day, and just trying to stay sane. I had to take a breath and do nothing (at least my parents would call this nothing). So enjoy and I'll be updating _Big Brother _sometime this weekened as well. Happy reading!_**

* * *

**_Chapter 12—Danny's POV—Fights & Favors_**

"And yet another one bites the dust," I muttered as I creamed one of the animatronics in the training room—but it didn't give me any satisfaction like it was suppose to.

Ever since I had come back from Earth from fetching my watch back, I had the same thought on my mind. Vlad was still dangerous and now the whole reunion thing was going to repeat itself—only without me there to stop it all.

I sighed heavily and walked out of the room, having not completed anything that I had wanted to do. I would have gone to the Saturn room, but I didn't feel like holding my breath. I decided to make it back to my room to sulk and think some more, but I heard voices down the hall in the library. It was Clockwork (whom I had come accustomed to calling my father in my mind only) and Ghost Writer, but he preferred that I call him Earl. I tried not to use names when I could help it, it was just too weird to call some of my worst enemies by name.

"Aw, Daniel," Clockwork called me over when I had opened the door, "how was the training session?"

"As mind numbing as usual," I said.

Clockwork frowned but said nothing, knowing that I was upset and didn't want to discuss it in front of our oblivious guest.

"I'm sorry to say that we didn't make any head-way on what happened to you," Ghost Writer turned to me, rubbing his sore eyes with his hand. "There doesn't seem to be any record of such a thing, and this is a very well kept and organized library."

"Thank you Earl," Clockwork smirked, "but I'm afraid that maybe what happened never happened before, or it's so old that it's not in any record."

"Doesn't the Ancient's Temple have more records?" Ghost Writer asked.

"No, they have the forbidden records," Clockwork said, his voice devoid of everything.

I knew that when he spoke like that it was a bad memory or it was never to be spoken of. Ghost Writer seemed to catch his drift and quickly cleared his throat in embarrassment.

"Very well, then I will take my leave. Daniel, I'll expect that paper on my desk by morning."

I watched as Ghost Writer left, leaving a comfortable silence between me and Clockwork. Not many words had to be exchanged between us anymore; we almost seemed to feel each other's mood. Well, at least I could.

"You had a question Daniel?" Clockwork asked to break the silence.

"Well, yeah, but I guess it can wait," I said.

"Some things shouldn't wait," Clockwork argued back. "Is this about what happened the other week?"

"No, it was about Plasmius. He's going to kill Jack Fenton at the reunion."

"How do you know this?"

"The last time, I was there to stop him. Now that I'm out of the time-stream, there isn't anyone to stop him from doing what he wants."

Clockwork nodded, "I was going to send you to stop Plasmius, to be enemies as you were before since you are the only one who can level the playing field with him, but I'm not so sure about sending you."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want that to happen again. I couldn't see you Danny, and it was not just you. I couldn't see the whole time-stream that you were in for a few minutes. Something happened up until the time you passed out, that's when I regained sight of it all. I don't want that happening again, excepsially with Plasmius around."

"I can take care of myself," I argued. "I'm not a child you know."

"Pariah Dark is a child compared to me Daniel. To me, you are no more than an infant."

"Well that's encouraging!"

"Daniel, listen to me—"

"No! You listen you old cog! My life—everything I knew—has been tossed out the window. I know that it's been a few months, I've been trying to adjust, but didn't you ever think once that maybe I was happy where I had been? That I didn't want this life? Why did you drag me here in the first place? If I'm just in the way, why bother? Isn't that why you gave me up? I just would have been a burden you didn't need since you're so busy."

"ENOUGH!"

I shrank back at his voice roaring around the halls of the tower. His eyes were blazing red, a sure sign that he was enraged. I never knew that Clockwork could get so angry. He always had a cool head, like a wise man. I had always looked to him when I was confused, when I felt like I couldn't fight out of a cardboard box. Seeing him like this almost had me fleeing for my life.

"You don't think that I cared?" he asked, voice eerily quiet and holding back rage just below the surface. "Who do you think alerted Jack when you fell out of that tree when you were eight? If he hadn't had caught you, you would have been nailed down to a wheel chair. Every spare moment of my time was spent watching over you, and when you were in danger, I would drop everything and help you. The _Hindenburg_ blew because I had to get you noticed when you tripped into the lake during winter and fell through the ice when you were six. You could have frozen to death despite your dormant ice-powers. How else were you able to survive every ghost attack without losing a limb, or your life after you were zapped by the portal? Don't think that I don't care, because I care about you more than time itself—and I am Time."

I didn't have anything to say. I was ashamed to accuse him of something I knew he wasn't capable of, and I was still shocked at the anger he had displayed. He understood my silence, quietly floating past me and to the exit.

"Daniel, tell Sullivan to make up some tea. We have guests coming soon and I know they will want to be treated with hospitality," Clockwork said before leaving the room.

After having a moment to collect my thoughts, I went to find the butler.

* * *

"Madam Spectra," Sullivan said as he opened the door to let the guests enter. "Sir Bertrand."

The blob only sniffed in disdain at Sullivan as he walked in. Spectra was in her shadow form, looking around the tower as if she was going to buy it. I simmered for a moment at her playful smile at me. I had been floating by when the bell rung and decided to stick around to see who was going to show up—I really could have cared less.

"Well hello there," Spectra said, flying over to me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

I shrugged her off violently, "Keep off you misery-sucking leach."

"My, my, someone has done their homework," Spectra said, trying to sound all pepped full of cheeriness—it made me want to gag. "I knew Clockwork had a child, but I didn't expect someone like you."

"It's not exactly common knowledge," Clockwork said, joining us as he flew in from his office. "Now why did you request visiting me Spectra?"

"As if you didn't know Clocky hunny," she said smoothly, sliding up to Clockwork's side. "I want you to put in a good word for me in with the Observants."

"I'm afraid that I'm not on good terms with them myself," Clockwork said, floating away from her and looking uncomfortable.

I would be too if I had that slimy snake hitting on me.

"Oh but you just have to do me this tiny favor," Spectra insisted, following him to the side. "After all, you would be paying me back for the favor I gave you."

_Dad needed a favor, from her?! _I thought incredulously.

Dad sighed heavily (and yes I did notice that I was calling him Dad now) and looked beaten.

"I'll see what I can do Spectra," he sighed. "Now take your shifting comrade and get out."

"Now that isn't a good way to treat your sister-in-law," Spectra pouted. "It's not often that I get to spend time with you."

"The time is not desirable to me," Dad whipped back. "Get out before I throw you out."

"You can't land a hand on me Clocky," Spectra snapped her fingers with a hiss in her voice.

Bertrand shifted into a giant wolf and pounced on me, keeping me pinned to the floor.

"Now, you will do as I say or your brat gets a close up at a wolf feeding," Spectra threatened smiling maliciously.

Dad closed his eyes tightly, close to fuming like he had in the library.

"One false move kid and you're slime," Bertrand hissed in my ear.

"You're not the only one who can play that game," I said, pushing him off as I shifted to match his animal.

"Impressive," Bertrand said, looking my form over as if he could spot some flaws.

"Bertrand, catch him and make sure he can't get away," Spectra yelled. "And you Clocky are coming with me."

"I'd rather not," Clockwork ground out.

While they argued, Bertrand leapt for me but I dodged him. I turned around on a dime and pounced on his back this time, sinking my fangs into his back. He howled madly and bucked like a bronco to try and get rid of me. He slammed his back against a wall, knocking me loose. I had hit my head so I was a bit dazed and couldn't get out of the way in time before he jumped me. He grabbed me by the throat and tossed me across the room like a doll.

"Time for a change," I muttered.

Bertrand ran at me, but I was prepared. As soon as he jumped in the air, I shifted into a lion and whacked him out of the way, relishing the shocked look on his furry face. His head went through one of the coo-coo clocks, breaking it into pieces. He then fell the last thirty feet to the floor, his body making a slight dent in the tile, but it served keep him there.

I growled and turned my eyes to a shocked-looking Spectra and a smug look from my dad.

"Daniel, be a good boy and take out the trash," Dad said as I shifted back into my usual form.

"Gladly," I floated upwards and smacked my fist into my hand.

I charged Spectra and she didn't fight me as I grabbed her arm. I turned and grabbed the prone form of her assistant before going to the door and dropping them both on their butts outside. I slammed the door before Spectra could rave about something unimportant.

"What did she mean by _sister-in-law_?" I asked Dad as I turned back to him.

"She's married to my brother," he said, looking annoyed.

"You aren't going to do the favor she asked of you, are you?"

"I'm afraid that I have to take it into account. She came to collect from the past favor she did for me."

"And what was that?"

"I saw that my brother was going to propose, and I asked her to marry him since that would get him off of my back and out of the human realm. She did, knowing the benefits for herself, but now I wish I had never asked. Let this be a lesson for you Daniel: never owe another man anything."

"Got it, so what now?"

"Well, I think you should get ready to go to Wisconsin."

My eyes lit up, "You're sending me back?"

"Yes, so hurry up and get ready. You'll be meeting the Dairy King in a few minutes."

"Sweet! Watch out Plasmius, you're worst nightmare is back."

"You enjoy being a thorn in that man's side don't you?"

"Yes, yes I do."

"As do I."


	14. Dogs & Fruitloops part 1

_**Yes it is short, but it's up! **_

* * *

_**Chapter 13—Danny's POV—Dogs & Fruitloops**_

I hung out invisibly in the rafters as Vlad went to go greet his house guests. It had been pretty quiet here for the past couple of hours—no ghost activity besides myself here. I had expected more since Vlad had to be planning something for the reunion party, but he could be waiting for the right moment tomorrow night.

"Jack, and Maddie, why you look even lovelier than ever," Vlad gushed to the Fentons.

"Gag," I said silently to myself.

"And this must be Jasmine," Vlad continued. "My, she looks just like you Maddie dear."

"Uh, thanks Vlad," Maddie said, walking into the mansion.

Of course Vlad shut the door in Jack's face before the hunter could step foot in the castle.

"Wow, you have a lot of green and gold," Jazz frowned at the interior. "Couldn't you afford an interior designer at least?"

"My good girl," Vlad said, walking over to one of the many Packers posters he had framed, "this stuff, in itself, will be worth a fortune in later years."

"Okay, but why not just buy the team?" Jazz asked.

"Because the Packers are owned by the city of Green Bay and they won't sell them to me!" Vlad groused and I snickered.

"Serious déjà-vu up here," I laughed quietly.

"Of course," Vlad had returned to his calm demeanor, "time is my best partner in many of the decisions I make. With enough of it, the city will wear down and I can buy the team; patients, my dear girl, can move mountains."

"Yeah, whatever," Jazz said not caring.

"Uh hello? Still outside here!" Jack said through the door with uncertainty that anyone could hear him.

"I better let Jack in," Maddie said with unease at the look Vlad was giving her.

"Oh of course, and I shall get the rooms ready for you," Vlad said with fax delight.

"Oh you don't have to do that V-man," Jack boomed as he came into the home, "we have a really cool RV out back!"

"You know Jack, they say that this castle his haunted by the Dairy King himself," Vlad tried to bait his 'best buddy'.

"Really!?" Jack shouted in child-like delight.

"Now come on Vlad," Maddie said, putting a hand on her husband's arm to keep him from jumping up and down, "we've done extensive research here and there is no proof that the Dairy King haunts this castle."

"Well, as much as I hate to say it, they do need to stay in the castle," I said getting up.

Using my mind, I shut the door behind Jack with a powerful slam, making all of them—including Vlad—jump in surprise. I made some of the frames from the wall come off and float around them, encased in ghostly green energy, and just for fun, I possessed some of the sharper kitchen utensils and made them run straight for Vlad. Of course I let the cheese head jump out of the way in time before the knives imbedded themselves in the wall—and his prized signed Packers football.

"Get out!" I wailed around the room, not sounding like Dairy King at all but they didn't need to know that. "Leave here and never look back!"

I let the frames fall and the lights turn back to their normal brightness—hey what good is a haunting with bright lights?

"I'll get the sleeping bags!" Jack yelled as he ran back out the door to the RV.

"Perfect," I smirked, floating through the ceiling to rest in the attic for that night.

* * *

Once again, Jack's snoring cued me in as to when I could sneak around. I was extra careful since this was Vlad's house and he had tighter security then Fenton Works did. After that little display this morning, Vlad was sure to be on the lookout for anything suspicious.

"The first place to look is the secret lab," I said, turning intangible and sliding through all of the floors until I reached the bottom basement.

It was almost exactly as it was before, only I noticed something that should have never been there.

"I don't believe it," I said as I approached what looked like Vlad's cloning machinery. "Vlad's already been cloning things? So what has he been testing it on?"

A growl behind me caught my attention and answered my question. I turned around and saw Cujo, locked up in a cage tightly. Chains around his neck and paws as if he was strong enough to break the bars without them. He looked pretty pissed off since he was in large guard-dog mode at the moment.

"Oh no, what's he done to you boy?" I asked, pressing the button that released him.

Cujo calmed down to his puppy form and jumped on me once the door swung open and his chains dropped from his body. He managed to knock me to the ground and started to lick my face profusely.

"Alright," I laughed, pushing him off of me, "I get the message, you're thankful."

Cujo barked in reply, wagging his tail happily. He then seemed to frown and turn around to look at another cage. He ran up to it, putting his front paws on the bars and looking within. I got up and followed him over. I looked in and saw a ghost dog just like the one I had freed, only it was a little lighter green then Cujo was. I saw a clipboard beside the cage and I read off of it.

"So this is your clone?" I asked looking at the sleeping dog again. "He's been experimenting on you?"

Cujo growled, as if to say yes. I shook my head and looked at the board again.

"It seems pretty stable, oh sorry, _she _seems stable," I corrected myself upon seeing the gender printed on the paper. "How ironic."

I opened the cage and took the sleeping dog in my arms. She stirred a little and looked up at me with big red eyes, I was almost drowning in them. She snuggled closer to me and went back to sleep. Cujo looked up at me, as if asking what we do now.

"Follow me," I told him, floating towards the ceiling again and turning intangible. "Stay invisible."

Cujo did as I commanded and jumped up with me. Back in the attic, I put the female on some old boxes that looked stable enough to hold her weight and I put Cujo up beside her.

"Do you want to help me catch Vlad?" I asked Cujo.

The dog growled an affirmative.

"Good, now, here's what we're going to do . . ."


	15. Dogs & Fruitloops part 2

**_I couldn't think of a good title for this one so I just extended it. I don't think it's very good, but I tried to make it as entertaining as possible. Let me know if this POV was good or not so I know what to do for future chapters. _**

* * *

**_Chapter 14—Cujo's POV—Dogs & Frootloops continued_**

Two-leggeds are hard to understand sometimes, but not Deep-Eyes. Deep-Eyes saved me and my sister. I have smelled him many times in the Ghost Zone, but I could never find where he lives. Now I know why, he dens with Know-It-All, the ghost with control over all time. I do not mind though, Deep-Eyes is my new friend, and he likes my sister. I'm still not sure where she came from, but she smells kind of like me, so she must be my sister. I know Cheese-Head had something to do with it, he hurt me a lot, but he hurt her a lot too. Many needles, many zaps, but for why, I don't know.

My sister woke up later that day Deep-Eyes rescued us and I snuggled closer to her as she looked around, uncertain of where she was and what to do. Deep-Eyes came over and coaxed her into his arms, trying to be friendly, but she was still very scared. She liked Deep-Eyes too, but she has not been around for long to know who is good and who is not. She knows me, she likes me, and I think she likes Deep-Eyes as well.

"Okay," Deep-Eyes said as he put my sister down, "now that we all know the plan, we just have to give her a name."

I barked in agreement, wagging my tail in excitement. Deep-Eyes mused for a moment before snapping his fingers and smiling.

"I think we'll call you Echidna."

My sister blinked in uncertainty, as did I.

"She was the mother of all monsters in Greek mythology," Deep-Eyes explained. "A rather terrifying figure."

We both barked at that; I knew the name fit my sister very well.

We both perked up our ears as we heard clamor from downstairs. Deep-Eyes saw our reaction and looked down to the floor himself. He soon heard what we heard and his face became determined.

"Okay guys, show time," he said.

We blinked.

"I mean, fetch!"

Echidna and I jumped up from the boxes and phased eagerly through the floor, Deep-Eyes following us. We made it to the main floor and we peeked through the walls, invisibly of course, and saw large humans jumping up and down to music that they didn't even know the words too. Humans are strange creatures.

"Come on guys, you need to sniff out Jazz for me," Deep-Eyes said, pulling something from his coat pocket and letting us sniff it.

I caught the sent first and started to sprint down the hall, Echidna and Deep-Eyes following closely. I soon found this 'Jazz' that Deep-Eyes wanted to find. She was sitting in a dark room watching moving pictures of large men throwing a ball back and forth and pinning each other to the ground. Humans never played fetch right.

"Hey, this seat taken?" Deep-Eyes asked 'Jazz'.

"What are you doing here?!" she squealed making my ears hurt.

_Bossy-Mouse, _I thought, _I'll call her Bossy-Mouse. _

"I'm here to protect your dad," Deep-Eyes said, trying to calm her down. "Vlad is a very evil person."

"But what does he have against my dad?" Bossy-Mouse asked.

"Well, other than the fact that Vlad blames Jack for the accident, stealing your mom."

"What?! I knew he was acting weird when we got here. What can I do to help?"

"Just keep Jack away from Vlad, I'll handle everything else."

"Right," Bossy-Mouse nodded and ran out of the room.

"Alright guys, time for phase two," Deep-Eyes said, a deadly gleam in his eyes.

Echidna and I growled, ready for action.

Deep-Eyes took out a rather fanciful pair of boxers from his pocket and let us sniff it.

"Old Fruitloop won't know what hit him," Deep-Eyes chuckled evilly. "You guys got the sent?"

I barked and Echidna nodded.

"Good, then sick'im," he commanded.

Echidna and I ran for it, wanting to do this for a long, long time. We spotted the one known as Vlad—but we preferred to call him Harsh-Hands—and skulked invisibly towards him, avoiding the humans' feet.

"Dad!" Bossy-Mouse said, walking up to Harsh-Hands and a very large orange-clad human.

"Hey Jazzy-Pants!" the orange fellow greeted his daughter.

"Um, you better get Mom and, uh, search the, uh, bowling alley!" Bossy-Mouse stumbled over her words.

"There's a bowling alley in here?" the orange man asked eagerly.

"There's a bowling alley in here?" Harsh-Hands asked just as well.

"Uh, yeah," Bossy-Mouse said, "and it's haunted."

"GHOST!!" the orange man yelled and ran for the exit, grabbing a blue-clad woman with him.

"There is no ghost here!" Harsh-Hands yelled.

I leapt forward, biting down hard on Harsh-Hands' ankle. He yelled in pain and tried to shake me off, but I held firm. He squealed like a little female when Echidna jumped up and bit him in the butt. Of course the humans scattered from the room when they saw their host acting so oddly. Echidna and I were still invisible, so we made it look like Harsh-Hands was going nuts.

"Heal," we heard Deep-Eyes command and we released our prey, coming to visibility as we walked up to our new master's side.

Harsh-Hands looked at us with murder blazing in his now red eyes.

"My test subjects!" he yelled at us. "And who the devil are you?"

"You'll find out eventually," Deep-Eyes said cryptically. "Just know that I'm going to be watching you."

"What makes you think I'll take that threat for real?" Harsh-Hands demanded.

Deep-Eyes whistled shrilly, a command to get ready to fight. Echidna and I grew to our full heights, looking down on Harsh-Hands with foaming mouths and narrowed red eyes.

"Uh, please not here," Harsh-Hands said, looking nervous. "I do have guests you know."

"Not anymore," Deep-Eyes said, looking out the big window.

Harsh-Hands turned to look as well and saw all of the cars drive away with loud squeals and leaving behind harsh black marks in the pavement. The smell of car fumes was heavy on my nose along with the smell of ecto-guns, but it quickly faded as we saw a large van-thing pull away, the word 'ghosts' being yelled faintly from someone from within.

"Like I said, we'll be watching you," Deep-Eyes retorted to Harsh-Hands before disappearing, us with him.

A portal appeared for us and we walked through. We ended up in Know-It-All's lair, the time ghost looking up at me and my sister with trepidation.

"So," Deep-Eyes started, nervous, "can I keep them?"

I got close to Know-It-All, for I had never smelled him before. I took a sniff and smelled him as a friend. I licked him, covering him in large chunks of my saliva. He didn't seem very pleased.

* * *

**_A quick note here-- it's pronounced like this (A-kid-na). _**

**_And here's a sneak peak at the next chapie!!!!_**

**Chapter 15--Tucker's POV--Knights and Frights **

**"You alright?" my savior asked me as he righed the trash can back up. **

**"I'll live, but I don't know if Bridget is okay." **

**"Bridget?"**

**I took out by beloved PDA and stared to clean her off. **

**"I knew I should have brought Lester," I whined. "He's stronger towards abuse!" **


	16. Knights & Frights part 1

_**Happy Halloween everybody! Even though I don't celibrate it, I still like to write about the spooky things that can happen. This is the special--and it is a two parter--so stay tuned later tonight for part 2!!**_

* * *

_**Chapter 15— Tucker's POV—Knights & Frights**_

"This is just not my day," I said as I hung upside down in the dumpster—again. "It's even after school hours. Why would A-list wait to ambush an innocent techno geek by the school of all places?"

When you really think about it, it doesn't make any sense.

Oh wait, I guess I should recap. It's Halloween night, one of my favorites besides Christmas and Thanksgiving because of two things. One—I get to dress up and being a total comic-book junkie means I have the coolest costumes of all time. Two—I get free candy! Hey, I may be a bit old to be trick-or-treating, but free candy is FREE candy.

Anyway, I was on my way to my friend's place so we could walk to the annual haunted house together—Lancer was in charge this year and I wanted to see how badly he screwed up—but unfortunately, I was running late and the quickest way to Sam's house is to run by the school. This is where I ran into Dash and his goons and you know the rest.

"Hey, is anyone out there!?" I yelled, but of course no one would be walking by.

That was just my luck. Now I would have to wait for Sam to come find me and bail me out of this mess. The tuna surprise was really starting to get to my senses.

A suddenly ominous feeling washed over me as the temperature dropped by at least ten.

"Uh, hello?" I asked, uncertain if I should make myself known or if I should keep my mouth shut.

"You okay?" someone asked, and he didn't sound murderous.

"I just need to get out of here," I told him.

"Alright, need my assistance?" he asked, but I could feel the shaking of the dumpster as he started to climb in.

"So long as you're gentle," I said.

He managed to dig me out and help me over the edge of the dumpster, taking a trash can down with me in the process. He was covered in black clothing, but I guess it was normal to see on this night. What really got me were his eyes, such an intense green that it made me want to stare at them forever.

"You okay?" he asked as he got up and righted the trash can back up.

"I'll live, but I don't know if Bridget is okay."

"Bridget?"

I took out my beloved PDA and started to clean her off.

"I knew I should have brought Lester. He's stronger towards abuse!"

My savior was looking at me oddly.

"Okay," he said to himself, "didn't know you had gotten this dramatic."

"Huh?"

"Is Bridget okay?" he hastily asked me.

"Yeah, she'll recover," I said, pocketing her. "I'm Tucker Foley."

"Um, Daniel, but call me Danny," he said awkwardly.

"You new in town, because I've never seen you around here before."

He seemed hesitant to say anything, but Sam saved him from answering. She came around the corner, looking relived that I was unharmed.

"Tucker!" she yelled, running up to me. "I was looking everywhere for you."

"Yeah, Dash and his buddies caught me earlier, but Danny saved me from certain smelly doom."

Sam turned to thank him, but she suddenly became speechless as she looked at him. Her eyes grew and her mouth dropped open, looking like it could hit the ground.

"You're—" she started shakily, but she couldn't finish.

"Yes I am," Danny said calmly, but he kept looking at me for some strange reason. "Uh, but Tucker doesn't know that you know me," he stressed a few of the words, as if they were suppose to have some underlining meaning to Sam.

"Huh? Oh yes! He doesn't know you," Sam said nervously after a moment of confusion.

"Mind if I butt in and ask what's going on?" I asked getting between them to get noticed.

"Well, you don't remember that ghost attack a few months back because you fainted," Sam said. "He was the ghost that saved us."

I scoffed at her, "Sam, there's no such thing as ghosts. Besides, he doesn't look like a ghost."

"Most ghosts don't look like ghosts," Danny said as he motioned his finger over to the fallen trash he had knocked down helping me get out.

The trash began to glow green and rise up in the air with the movements of his equally glowing fingertip. My eyes followed the trash as the lid to the can came off, the trash was placed back inside of it, and the lid slammed shut.

"No point in getting my hands dirty," Danny joked with a little bit of a chuckle.

"Cool trick," Sam said, excited.

"Wait, you really—" I didn't finish my question, I was too confused, and I was wondering if we should begin to run.

"So, what are you doing back here?" Sam asked him.

A streetlight flickered above the ghost's head and he glared at it for a moment before answering Sam's question.

"My father told me to have a good time," he said with a shrug. "So I am."

"You're not, like, going to haunt the town and murder people and scare them out of their skins right?" I asked, hiding behind Sam and my voice rising a few octaves.

"No way," Danny shook his head rapidly, "for one—that is disgusting! For another, I don't do that kind of thing."

"So, are there a lot of ghosts out tonight? Are you supposed to watch over us?" Sam asked.

"Nothing that cheesy," Danny laughed. "I haven't seen many ghosts out though, besides, my father said it would be a free night, at least that's what I thought he said."

"Hey, why don't we all go to the haunted house?" Sam asked. "Danny can make it a real haunted house!"

"Sorry, I'm staying out of that racket!" Danny declared.

"Oh come on! We can scare the pants off of Dash to get revenge on Tucker!"

"This pleases me," I said, my thoughts turning quiet evil. "I even know what kind of theme Dash put into the room he was assigned to."

"Go on," Danny seemed interested now.

"Haunted locker room," I whispered to him. "Think you can do something with that?"

Danny thought for a moment, Sam watching him, hoping he would agree to our plan.

"Well, it is Halloween," Danny mused, then his grin became malevolent—but for fun, "and what good is a spooky holiday without a haunting?"

"Come on!" Sam grabbed both of us by the arms and dragged us towards the house.

* * *

It was creepy, dark, and smelly. A few people had already gone through it, impressed by Dash's room—of course it helped if you had an uncle in animatronics to help you with it.

"This is lame," Sam said when we got inside—and she was right.

Her vampire costume had to be the scariest thing in there. Danny nodded in agreement with her, seeming to wince at the décor. I only shrugged at it all.

"It's too light," Danny said. "Those bulbs need to be killed."

"I got it," I said, hacking into the security system on Bridget.

"Wait a minute Tucker," Sam grabbed my arm to get my attention. "Testlaugh is coming in with her volleyball group."

"Testlaugh?" I asked, then I smirked. "Danny, think you could scare the pants off that woman?"

"That's a woman?" he asked me, but he had the same smile I did.

"Just kill the lights, I got the rest taken care of."

Then he dissipated into the air. Sam and I were confused and a little shocked, but we smiled in excitement that we were friends with a ghost—a ghost that was going to spook the whole student body.

"Well Lancer," Testlaugh said in her gruff voice to our teacher of many trades, "it doesn't look too bad."

"I will take that compliment Testlaugh," Lancer smirked, " but you have yet to see the wonders and horrors of this year's haunted house."

"You got that right," I said as I killed the lights.

The whole place went out like a candle and the kids started to scream crazily. They all ran for the door, but I guess Danny had shut it with his powers. It scared even me with that giant slam it gave off, sending shudders through the whole building like it was going to fall apart. The place filled up with a green mist that curled around everyone's legs and feet.

"_Huck Fin! _What is going on here!?" Lancer yelled over the screams of the kids.

"It's nothing that I can't handle," Testlaugh said, pushing us behind her and she went into the middle of the room alone. "Show yourself you miscreant! Or else you'll face my wrath."

Danny's form spiraled out of the air, hanging upside down in front of a frozen Testlaugh.

"Boo!" he said, returning to invisibility before Testlaugh regained her senses and swung a fist at him. "You have disturbed my slumber! Now you must pay, by zombie jocks!"

Dash's animatronic-locker people were glowing the same green that the trash had earlier. They were moving around at a drunken pace, moaning and slobbering everywhere. The kids screamed and banged on the door, Sam and I just laughed at it all. Dash was screaming like a little girl and even Testlaugh was wanting to run.

"Get me out of HERE!!" she yelled.

Danny let the doors go free and everyone spilled out, running for their lives. The robots dropped to the ground lifeless and Danny reappeared, floating by the entrance to the main room. He was laughing hard, but so were we.

"You have disturbed my slumber!" Sam yelled, while laughing, in a poor imitation of Danny's haunting voice.

"You must die!" I quoted.

"Face the terror of the Fright Knight!"

"What?" I asked in confusion as I pulled myself together. "You never said anything like that."

"That's because it wasn't me," Danny said, looking rather worried, "and if it is who I think it is, we're in deep trouble."

Sam and I shared a wary glance before the roof caved in, covering us in dust. I blinked a few times until the dust cleared, seeing Danny floating by my side, he must have moved when the roof caved.

"Oh no," he said in a shaky breath.

I looked up and gasped, frozen in fright. There, floating by whole it had created, was a black bat-winged horse, carrying a ghostly knight with a deadly green sword.


	17. Knights & Frights part 2

**_Part 2! I have to give a warning that I will be pausing here so I can finish _Probable. _I know what I'm going to do next for that and I really want to get it finished! Okay, that's all the new I have--and Happy Halloween!!!_**

* * *

_**Chapter 16—Danny's POV—Knights & Frights continued**_

'Go and have some fun,' he said. 'You'll enjoy the day off; think of it as a birthday present.'

That's the last time I take anything Dad says for granted. What I really think he meant by 'time off' was hours, not the whole day. Why of all days must the Fright Knight be released on Halloween? He's the spirit of Halloween for crying out loud! Who do you think decapitated the Headless Horseman? Nice guy by the way, not so good at dodge ball though. Oh the horror stories he could tell you about sports when you're headless—but I'm getting off track.

"Well, this is just perfect," I muttered when I saw the Fright Knight. "Can't I at least spend my birthday in peace?!" I yelled at him, shaking my fist in the air.

"Knave, you will bow down to me!" he yelled back instead.

"Oh you did not just call me knave!" I shouted, charging my fists up and catapulting off of the floor from Sam and Tucker.

Fright Knight was obviously taken aback by my boldness and attack. I managed to strike him in the jaw, knocking him from his midnight steed. The animal bucked and tried to kick me, but a quick ice-blast took care of that annoying creature.

"Sam, Tucker, get out of here," I yelled down to them. "It isn't safe!"

Fright Knight took a swing at me with Soul Shredder and I dodged it, but just barely. I could only hope that Sam and Tucker heard me and ran for it; I couldn't spare any more of my attention to my surroundings.

"How dare you strike me!" Fright Knight seemed really pissed—I have a bad habit of ticking people off don't I? –as he struck at me again.

I knew going intangible to dodge this weapon was useless, so I did the next best thing, I jumped backwards and did a flip in the air to land on the roof of the old house. Soul Shredder ended up getting stuck in the ancient timbers and shingles of the house. Fright Knight tried his best to get his weapon out, but it was secured firmly in the wood.

"Sorry Fright Knight, but there's a new monarchy in town," I quipped, taking advantage of his distraction.

I blasted him away from his sword and into a nearby building, that was nearly three blocks away. I flew after him, wanting to keep him away from that sword.

"Wait!" I said as I spotted him just getting up from the hit. "I need that sword! Idiot!!"

I turned back around and flew as fast as I could go, but Fright Knight caught my ankle and spun me back around.

"You will perish!" he said, his eyes flaming in anger at me.

"Dude, you're a ghost, you're not really one to talk about perishing," I said.

I really got to stop pissing off these ghosts. Fright Knight didn't enjoy my banter and threw me into the same building that I had blasted him in—so you could say that the feeling was mutual between us. I peeled myself from the building and Fright Knight blasted me into the sidewalk. There was a nice crater there as I pulled myself out of it.

"Danny!"

I turned my head to see Sam and Tucker running up to me.

"What's going on dude?" Tucker asked, watching the fainting purple streak of the Fright Knight as it faded back to the house.

"That is Fright Knight, he's the spirit of Halloween," I explained in a hurry as I ran down the street, Sam and Tucker following me. "We got to stop him before he does something bad."

"Like what?" Sam asked.

"His weapon, Soul Shredder, can transport you into a different realm."

"Sweet! I want super models in my world," Tucker said with a smile.

"A realm where you're worst fears come alive," I said, seeing his face fall.

"How can we stop him?" Sam asked.

"We need to get that sword into a pumpkin, just like _Sword in the Stone_."

"Wait, a pumpkin?" Sam asked incredulously.

"Hey, I don't make up the rules," I shot back.

"Guys, I think we have company," Tucker said as we stopped at the corner of the block leading to the house.

Fright Knight was there to greet us. He had planned to ambush us.

He was closer to Sam so he took a swing at her first. I acted like lightening and pushed her out of the way, and felt the tip of the blade slice through me at the moment I occupied her spot. There was a tension-fill silence as they waited to see what had happened, but I couldn't bring myself to do much. I was in to much shock to do anything.

"This is impossible!" Fright Knight shouted, shocked himself. "You should have been placed in a world of your greatest fears, not simply impaled."

"Oh boohoo," I said hoarsely and sarcastically.

Fright Knight retracted his sword and I fell limply to the ground. I felt Sam and Tucker at my shoulder, trying to rouse me, but it did no good. I was injured and nothing they could do could help me at this point.

"Jacket, pocket," I managed to rasp out.

Sam heard me and began to search through my coat until she found the pocket watch. She flipped it open and frowned at it since there was nothing there to help us, at least she thought so. When it was opened, Dad knew, somehow he did. When no response was coming through, he would come and help, if he wasn't already.

"Dude, now there's a big hairy thing fighting Fright Knight," Tucker whispered in my ear.

"Wulf," I said, expecting Dad to send someone he could trust, "he's good. Is there anyone else there?"

"Yipes!" Sam said, startled by something. "There's a really big dog with red eyes glaring at me."

"Me too," Tucker said, sounding scared.

"Cujo, Echidna, heal," I commanded.

I heard Sam and Tuckers' relived sighs as the dogs calmed down.

"Danny, I don't think Wulf can beat Fright Knight," Sam said, sounding concerned. "What do we do?"

"Get that weapon away from him," I said, struggling to sit up.

They helped me to sit against the wall of the building, but I could see their horror at my predicament. My wound was bleeding profusely and I had left a large puddle of it on the pavement.

"Don't worry about me," I said to get their attention. "I'm a fast healer. We need to stop Fright Knight first."

They seemed uncertain, but didn't say anything.

"Sam, Tuck, get a pumpkin from inside the house, there were plenty in there. I'll get the weapon from Fright Knight."

"How?" Sam asked.

"Just trust me."

I got to my feet shakily and rushed at the knight before I lost my nerve or my strength to do so. I pinned him face first up against a tree, but he went intangible and phased through the tree. I jumped up higher when the tip of his blade sliced through the tree and where my neck had once been.

"Wulf, get him!" I told the ghost as he looked up at me with uncertainty. "Cujo, come with me, Echidna, stay with Tucker and Sam, make sure they get that pumpkin out here!"

Cujo grew another two feet before rushing up to join me.

"Ready to play fetch?" I asked him.

He barked, wagging his tail happily.

I pointed to the knight's sword, which was swinging back and forth since he was trying to hack at Wulf. Cujo barked and lunged for it. He caught the wrist of the knight, tugging fiercely enough to break the arm out of the socket—which in fact, he did.

"Get back here with my appendage, and my Soul Shredder!" Fright Knight yelled at him as he chased Cujo around the yard.

I blasted at Fright Knight to topple him over as Cujo ran up to me with his prize.

"Good boy," I said, taking the arm and weapon.

I detached the hand from the hilt—there was nothing in the armor but air—and held onto Soul Shredder with a fierce grip. I looked up at Cujo who was painting heavily and was keeping an eye on the armor piece on the ground. I picked it up and threw it and he ran after it to fetch it back.

"Thanks for the toy Fright Knight," I complimented the unbalanced spirit.

"I will not be bested by a child!" Fright Knight yelled, getting up to his feet. "Especially, McCord's little serf of a brat."

"What did you say?" I asked, anger flaring in my eyes.

Fright Knight backed up a few steps at seeing me take a different turn in my attitude, and I was shocked myself, but I couldn't help it. It was this burning desire for—something I can't really explain. It felt so wild and untamed, wanting release, wanting justice. It felt white hot yet it didn't hurt me; I felt unstoppable, even more powerful then Time itself. I was something else entirely, something more deadly and more dangerous than anything I had ever felt before—except for _him. _

I gasped and came back to planet earth. What had just happened?

"Danny!"

I turned around and saw Sam and Tucker running out of the building, with a pumpkin. I turned back to Fright Knight, to see if he had any more tricks, but the ghost looked at me with wide eyes and—fear.

Sam handed me the pumpkin and I told her to put it on the ground. She did and I looked back up at the knight.

"Sorry, but it's where you belong," I told him, raising the sword to plunge it in.

"I understand my liege," Fright Knight said.

I froze a moment. Fright Knight called me something higher then himself. That never happens except for when one is more powerful than him. He likes to be on the winning side, so I was frightened by what he had said.

"Dude, just put it in the vegetable already!" Tucker said.

I shoved the sword in and it swirled Fright Knight back in, along with his frozen steed. Wulf and Echidna came up to us, looking at the sword in the pumpkin, wondering if he would really stay in there.

Cujo stopped us though by dropping the arm of the armory piece into our little circle. We all looked up to him and he sat down, waiting for it to be thrown again.

"Wonder why it sucked them up and not that," Sam spoke her thoughts.

"Don't know, but I've had enough of this for one night," I said taking the pumpkin in my hands. "I'll just place nasty here back in the Ghost Zone. Cujo, get you're toy."

Cujo picked it up, his puppy form dwarfed by the arm. Echidna rolled her eyes and followed me and Wulf back to where he had ripped the portal to get here.

"Hey, wait up!"

Tucker and Sam ran up to us.

"Will we ever see you again?" Sam asked.

"Yeah dude, you're loads of fun," Tucker panted. "Too much running!"

"Oh I'll be around," I said. "Don't worry, we'll see each other again."

"What about just hanging out?" Sam asked. "I mean, it's like you catch ghosts for a living."

"It's my job," I nodded. "I'll see what I can do."

We said our good-byes and I placed Fright Knight's prison back in Pariah's Keep. Wulf helped me over to Dad's since I was still a little weak from the fight, my wound still causing me some grief. Dad met us at the entrance and told me to go to bed at once. I didn't argue with him. The maid dressed my wound at best as she knew how; Dad said he would have Dora come in tomorrow to look at it.

"Did you know?" I asked him before he floated out of the room.

"I knew it was a possibility, but it was a slim one," he said. "I didn't expect Time to take that turn."

"Do you know who let him out?"

"Plasmius is up to his old tricks again," Dad nodded. "We'll keep an eye on him, don't worry."

I felt like telling him what had happened, that wild feeling I had when Fright Knight had pressed my buttons, but I had fallen asleep before I had the chance to say anything.


	18. Practice & Storms

**_This chapter is really boring, but it explains a little more about Danny's powers and introduces a new member of the family. Have fun!!!_**

* * *

_Chapter 17—Danny's POV—Practice & Storms_

Thanksgiving had already rolled around by the time we saw Spectra again. The little soot-stain looked at me apprehensively, but her snide smile said that she wasn't about to fear me. I snorted at her look and returned to what I was doing, reading an incredibly boring book that Ghost Writer assigned me. If he wasn't an ally, I'd wring his skinny little rear and send it flying all of the way back to Pariah's Keep.

"Spectra," Dad came floating into the room, looking very uncomfortable and not in the mood to deal with her.

"Clocky dear," she said in a sickening sweet voice.

"Where's the snot stain?" I asked flipping the page I hadn't really read.

Of course I was referring to Bertrand since he didn't seem to be anywhere in sight. Spectra shot me a look that made me want to laugh. She looked completely off her rocker.

"You'll have to forgive him," Dad said, gesturing to me. "He's been under house-arrest since Halloween and he's a teenager."

"Yes, children are cute, until they grown a mind of their own," Spectra said, turning her attention back to Dad. "Anyway, brat aside, what have you thought about my offer?"

"Don't you mean your demand?"

"That too," Spectra inspected her claws while she waited for Dad's answer.

"Spectra, I can't do this. Do you know what you'll do to the human realm?"

"That's the whole plan, and there's nothing that you or your kid can do about it since I'm within my rights."

Dad's face looked pained, knowing she was right. I ground my teeth, coming very close to ripping the book I was holding into shreds.

"I'll put in your request," Dad said, looking heavily defeated.

Spectra nodded, glared at me, than left the tower.

"Can't you stop her?" I asked him, getting ready to stand but I thought better of it when a sharp pain entered my abdomen.

After getting stabbed clear through, I had become ill for a week, slowly healing after my fever had broken. I hadn't been able to leave the tower since I had gotten impaled. I was useless to everyone at the moment as well since I couldn't move without inflicting pain upon myself.

"It will be a while before the Observents even look at the request," Dad said, but he still looked troubled. "I'm more worried about you."

"I'm fine," I growled out, but he knew I was lying.

"This isn't a good environment for you to heal," he said shaking his head at me. "Plus you've been so bored that I think you would rather bang your head against the wall for enjoyment."

"That would be an improvement," I nodded, glaring at the floor.

"So, I've decided that you're going to live with your aunt for a while, at least until you heal and get back into working order to return to Earth."

"Spectra!?" I nearly shrieked.

"Clam down Daniel, do you really think I would put you with her? No, I'm speaking of my own sister."

"Oh, have I met her before?"

"Yes, but in the other time stream. She's Pandora, ghost of all Legends."

It took me a moment to think that through, than I slowly nodded.

"Makes sense, in some freaky ghost way," I commented.

* * *

Pandora's realm was large and open, much more inviting then Dad's spooky tower. She welcomed me with open arms of course, all four of them. She was delighted to finally meet me, and to have something else besides that three headed dog that roamed the yard for company. Unfortunately, I had to leave Cujo and Echidna with Dad; it was too much trouble to move them with me, and I didn't think Cerberus (the three headed dog) wanted much company.

"Okay, let's see that wound," Pandora said, seeing me wince when Wulf set me down in a chair.

I had to ride piggy back on Wulf the whole way here since I couldn't maintain a simple flight pattern. Plus I wouldn't have been able to defend myself if I ran into anyone, Walker for instance who was still out to get my hide, altered time line or not.

She inspected the impact wound and whistled in sympathy.

"I think I have something that will ease your pain dear nephew," she said, clapping two of her hands while the other two held my coat and shirt.

A few servants came rushing into the room, each holding something different. Pandora began to mix some sort of drink for me before my eyes. Each ingredient smelled like something you wanted to stay clear away from, each time it hit the bottom of the cup it made a small puffing sound. When she handed it to me, I cringed away, despite the pain.

"It's not poisoned," Pandora coaxed me.

"Does it have to be?" I asked.

She frowned at me and shook her head.

"Either swallow this of your own accord or I will force it down your throat."

I think I would rather have it go down the correct pipe. I took the drink and pinched my nose. I should have know better, that trick never helps. I shoved the whole thing down my throat in hopes to get it over with fast, but I nearly gagged on it the first time it hit my tongue. I swallowed out of desperation to get rid of the taste.

Within seconds, I did begin to feel better, but the taste was still lingering in my mouth and I spat, hoping to take some of the taste with it.

"Now that wasn't so bad was it?" she asked me, a pleased look in her face.

I only glared at her.

* * *

The next few days were fun, I guess. I still had to drink that horrible potion, but I gradually began to heal and Pandora was eager to see what kind of powers I had. She helped me get back on my feet, even let Cara and Blaze come over for a few hours so I could hang out with them.

The girls and I spent hours in the maze, trying to figure out just how to crack it, but we always had to give up right before we could really figure it out. I tiered out easily so we never did anything too draining, but at times, I pushed myself when I really should have reined it in. Pandora always had to come and get me and send me right back to bed.

"Don't strain yourself," she would recite. "You're never going to heal if you do."

Over the next month, I grew stronger and I thought I was ready to go back to Dad, but of course, I should have known better.

"What do you mean stay here?" I asked Pandora, worry and anger coating my tone. "I'm fine now aren't I?"

"Yes, you are," Pandora nodded a serious expression on her face, "but things are not well at the Tower. Clockwork has requested that you stay here until things get settled."

"It's the Observents isn't it?" I questioned, but Pandora wouldn't answer me. "I knew it, what do those pompous sorry-excuses for 8-balls want now?"

"Nothing that concerns you."

"It does concern me, or else I would be at home right now."

"You are smart," Pandora smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Just trust us Danny, we know what we're doing."

Now it's hard to argue with an ancient spirit, especially when you're related to one, about just what they knew, and what they didn't know. I trusted Pandora, but I didn't like sitting around doing nothing. I couldn't stray far from Pandora's mansion, so I couldn't visit any of my friends and Pandora cut off all of the girls' visits, saying it was too dangerous right now for them to be traveling by themselves. I could understand that, but I wasn't happy about it.

I spent most of my time practicing my telekinetic techniques. Pandora's court yard was the perfect place to practice this; plenty of open space and rocks to toss around without hurting anyone—except the Box Ghost when he was cleaning out the fountain.

Telekinesis is simple, it's all about mind-set and will. Picture a hand reaching for an object and lift up the object, simple but complex at the same time. I spent hours rolling rocks and boulders around the yard until the ground looked like a school track around the football stadium. I found this easier with my eyes closed, but in battle, you can't close your eyes. I started to train myself on keeping my eyes open, but also feeling everything around me.

Each life force has a feeling for me, almost like a sent to a dog. I can track it and extract it if I had too, but I could also tell if it was living or dead, moving or being still. I practiced this crazy trick with the wild animals that lived in the maze, and it was oddly comforting. I was starting to feel like a monk.

I kept to myself, only speaking when Pandora wished an audience to talk to her. The servants didn't bother me, they let me do as I pleased without question. I guess they didn't know how to act around me. That was okay, I wasn't use to a house full of servants, so the escape to the court yard to train was a blessing.

It was the only thing that kept me sane.

At night, my dreams would never cease. Always bouncing around in my head, making me more tired than when I had first closed my eyes. Most of them weren't nightmares, but they were draining just the same. Most were pictures of destruction that bloomed into great life, but I didn't understand it. Some of it was great life taken into destruction. I didn't understand that either. However, some of it was just of light, I sort of understood it because the presence felt familiar to me and I welcomed it, but it was always overwhelming right before I woke up.

I hated those crazy dreams.

* * *

"Danny, there's a message from your father," Pandora came out to the court yard to get me.

I reached out with my mind almost by instinct and took it from her. She was surprised, but didn't say anything about it. I read the letter quickly then threw it away: I had a mission on Earth that I had to take care of right away.

"Where's the nearest portal?" I asked Pandora urgently.

"There's one under the fountain," Pandora said, sliding the giant marble carving from its place with one hand.

I jumped through the exposed portal quickly, hoping that my half-thought-up scheme would work.

I landed on top of a roof in Amity Park and I could already hear the screaming. The rain was pounding on the streets, making them sound like giant drums. The hail was large, the size of basket balls, and the clouds were black—ink black and twirling with the fierce rage of the wind. Vortex was back, and my mission was to bring him down.


	19. Storms & Ghosts

**_Just to show that I am going to finish this fic, here is the update. I'm going to finish my Twilight crossover first before updating this one again, but it won't be long. Also, this chapter sucks, but I've been away from it for a long time and I have to get back into the swing of things. This is in Jack's point of view, it's not very Jack-like, but I'm not going to be doing much from his POV anyway. He's very much a character to observe and not actually be. Let me know what you think!_**

* * *

**_Chapter 18—Jack's POV—Storms & Ghosts_**

The ghost had hit without any warning. One minute, the world was perfectly normal, and the next minute you're running away from giant hail the size of the Fenton Stockades. I drove the GAV through the deserted streets, overly excited because this was our first official ghost fight. I wanted to make it more official by saying something snappy to the evil ghost, but Maddie said it would be better to sneak up on it then fire. That's why l love Maddie, she's so smart and comes up with the greatest plans.

Of course her plan would have worked, if that Ghost Kid hadn't gotten in the way.

At first we had thought he was another bystander. He was standing in the middle of the street, looking up at the sky as if searching for something. I slammed the breaks on the GAV and honked the horn to get him to move, he didn't even turn around.

"Kid, get out of the road!" I yelled at him, sticking my head out the window.

"This isn't your fight," he said to me, turning around to look over his shoulder.

Maddie gasped when she saw his face, I did too. He was a ghost. I pushed the gas down to the floor and the GAV shot forward like a bullet from the barrel of a gun. When I had gone a short ways, I put the brakes on and we both jumped out, guns blazing and senses alert to be sure we had taken care of the threat. There was a lot of smoke from the tires of the GAV so we had to wait for it to blow away before we could see anything clearly.

The wind picked up, blowing dirt and the smoke away from our sight and we saw the ghost, still standing like he had before in the middle of the street. He took his eyes away from the sky to look at us for a second, then he turned his eyes back up.

"Leave here," he warned us again.

"We don't take orders from ghosts!" Maddie yelled at him.

"Yeah!" I yelled back, unable to come up with something witty to say back.

Lightening stuck the ground between us and the ghost. Maddie and I jumped back and covered our eyes, seeing spots from the blinding light of the storm.

"Well, this is a surprise," said a new voice that seemed to be all around us.

"Vortex, this is your last warning!" the ghost in the street yelled up to the sky. "Come quietly or I'll have to use force!"

I quirked an eyebrow in interest. We had never encountered a ghost before—since there had been a hefty lack of them until recently—and we never thought that we would see something like this.

We had theorized that ghosts were something like wild animals; survival of the fittest type of thing. They were also brainless except for their instincts to feed and survive, meaning that yeah ghosts fought each other, but they way this ghost-boy was commanding the larger ghost we couldn't see suggested a higher chain of command, an organized set up of some sort of government.

"Why should I listen to you, child?" the wheezy voice echoed around the city.

"Because, this child can kick your butt back into the Observant's quarters before you can say Timbuktu!" the ghost-boy yelled up into the sky, pointing at one large cloud that the ghost must have been hiding behind.

Lightening was his answer. It came down from the large cloud and headed straight for him. For a moment, I felt panic crawl up my chest. Yeah, he was a emotionless blob of ectoplasm, but the human resemblance made me panic and think that he was going to get killed. Plus he looked like a kid, that had an effect on my mind as a father—no one wants to see a kid get hurt.

I didn't have to worry though. The boy stood there defiantly and shot his own attack into the air. It seemed to be some sort of spectral eclectic attack that shot out from his fingers. As the two attacks collided, a bright light formed and a powerful resistance from the two electrical forces pushed me, Maddie, and the RV away a few feet. When the force was gone, we looked up and saw that the ghost boy was standing just as he had before, no scratch on him. His attack had neutralized the lightening.

"Wow," I breathed, never having been in the presence of such power before.

"I'm coming up there Vortex!" the ghost boy yelled and, true to his word, flew like a bullet into the heavy grey clouds.

"Jack, now is our chance," Maddie said, heading over to the RV.

She climbed up to the roof and began to push a variety of buttons that I had no idea how to work.

"What are you doing Mads?" I asked, confused like I always was.

"Well, one of them has to come down," Maddie said logically. "And we'll get whoever it is when they come back down. Think Jack, our first captured ghost!"

The thought thrilled me. My face split into a grin and I hopped into the driver's seat while Maddie planted herself on the roof with our new capture cannon. Up in the sky, the clouds started to thin out, blue sky visible again over the clock tower in the middle of town. I headed in that direction, careful not to knock Maddie off of the roof and send her flying into the ground.

As we got closer, we could see the ghost boy and some sort of tornado ghost dueling it out in the sky. The boy had just dodged some sort of attack from the larger ghost and fired one of his own. The ghost got hit directly in the chest and started to shrink. He must have been loosing power.

The ghost boy saw this too and took his advantage. He took out a pair of cuffs from his belt and swung around to the back of the stunned tornado. He grabbed the wrists quickly and cuffed the ghost like you would see in a cop show on television.

"By the power given to me by my father, I send you back under captivity," the ghost boy said, but we could barely hear him from where we were on the ground.

In a flash, the tornado was gone with a howl of his own. The ghost boy wiped his forehead, as if getting rid of the sweat from his battle. He was off guard, now was our chance!

Maddie saw it and took aim—she was always the better aim—and pulled the trigger. The ghost boy spun around when he heard the shot, but it was too late. The net grabbed him and started to pull him back down to us. I grabbed the Fenton Weasel from the back seat and barged out of the RV.

"Eat Fenton Weasel ghost scum!" I shouted and turned the vacuum on.

"No, you can't!" the ghost yelled in panic. "You don't understand what you're messing with here!"

The weasel sucked him up and I turned it off.

"Jack, you captured a ghost!" Maddie praised me.

"I did! Yeah me Jack Fenton!" I shouted to the skies in triumph. "Wow! Now what do we do?"


	20. Escapes & Wonders

_**Been a while since I updated this-I've been so focused about completeing my Twilight-DP crossovers that I kind of just put it to the curb. Well don't fear people, I just came up with a great way to put in a missing character. I was afraid I would have to leave her out of it completely, but not so! I'll just have to tweak her name a bit but it will be the same character. Happy reading!**_

* * *

**_Chapter 19—Maddie's POV—Escapes and Wonders_**

I couldn't believe it. Almost twenty years of study and we finally had a specimen to test on—a loud-mouth specimen.

"Let me out!" the ghost yelled, making the Fenton Weasel shake and bounce around as Jack drove the RV back home. "Let me out! You got to let me out!"

"No dice ghost kid," Jack shouted over his shoulder to the captive ghost, taking his eyes off of the road and swerving the RV onto the sidewalk—again.

"Jack, the road!"

Jack grunted and put the RV back on the correct lane. I sighed heavily, hoping a cop didn't catch that stunt, and turned to look at the Weasel. It was momentarily silent and I wondered if we had injured the ghost, but a moment later, I realized that the little light was off; the light that indicated if it was occupied or not.

"Jack, he got out!" I warned him, unbuckling my seat belt to get back there and find out what went wrong.

At my exclamation, Jack threw on the brakes. I went flying into the back of the RV, but didn't hit the back thankfully. Once the vehicle was at a complete stop, I walked over to the Weasel and opened the containment to see what went wrong. I did a stupid thing.

Once the weasel was open the ghost boy jumped out and floated for a minute, his hair brushing the top of the RV.

"Thanks," he smirked and phased through the top of the car to escape.

"Don't worry Mads!" Jack shouted, grabbing a gun while opening the door. "I'll get him back!"

Before I could stop him, he jumped out of the car and disappeared into the street. I grabbed my own gun and jumped after my husband, but I was shocked to see him standing still in the street, the ghost still here and staring at us as if he had something to say. I aimed my gun at him, but I didn't shoot.

It was odd, seeing him floating there and not running or attacking us. Normally, a ghost's first reaction to attack is to attack back—at least in theory.

"I don't want to be enemies," the ghost said at last, breaking the tense silence between us and landing on the street to be at our eye level.

I kept my gun trained on him, but still didn't shoot. I was shocked by his words, but it might be a ploy to knock us off our guard and attack when we were defenseless. I looked into his eyes and saw nothing but sincerity there, making me falter.

Ghosts didn't have emotion like this—they couldn't display such a thing since they weren't human anymore. Seeing that in those glowing green eyes made me think that there was more to this ghost then what I saw. I looked to Jack and saw he had put down his weapon completely. He noticed it too.

"Please, I don't want to fight," the ghost spoke again. "I'm tired of fighting."

"Tired of fighting?" I asked out loud. "You're a ghost, you're not supposed to tire of anything."

The ghost shifted those green eyes to me and I was caught in his stare, unable to move as he talked directly to me.

"You've spent years theorizing about us, let me help you put facts to those theories. I can provide you with information in a diplomatic way, there's no need to hurt anyone to get what you want."

"Is he trying to make a deal with us?" Jack asked, bewildered as usual. "How can we trust him Mads?"

"Let me prove that I don't mean you any harm," the ghost answered his question. "I don't want to hurt people, I'll only defend myself and run if I see a human. In return, you don't shoot at me and I give you what you want. We help each other and everyone stays happy."

"But all ghosts want to do is destroy and terrorize," I said, confused at this.

"Not all," the ghost smiled slightly, and I found that smirk almost human looking. "There's a level of order in the Ghost Zone like there is here. Some ghosts are good and some are evil. The good ghosts keep the bad ghosts locked up—just like bad humans are locked in jail by good humans. I'm one of the ghosts that lock up bad ghosts. If we can reach some sort of understanding about one another, it will spare a lot of bloodshed, on both sides."

What he was saying made a lot of sense, but it still went against everything we were taught about ghosts. How could we trust this one?

Well, he did save the town by sending that tornado ghosts back into the Ghost Zone—at least I assumed that's where it went.

"If you have doubts, just ask your daughter," the ghost spoke up, as if he was reading my mind. "I've saved her from a very rocky relationship in the past. Don't be mad at her for not telling you, she just wanted to make sure you didn't hurt me. And that incident at the reunion in Wisconsin."

"That was you?" Jack asked. "I heard what had happened after we left."

"Vlad is not a good guy Jack, he wants to hurt you and your family."

"Wait, how did you know his name?" I asked, bringing my gun back up.

"I know all of your names Maddie, it's a bit of a curse for me, but a blessing as well. You'll find that I'm a very good friend to have on your side."

I couldn't argue with that. I saw what he did to that ghost earlier and he wasn't even tired. He would be a good ally if he spoke the truth. I lowered my gun and glared at him.

"How can we reach you?" I asked.

"I'll hear you, just call my name," the ghost smiled as if he had gained something invaluable.

"And you're name is?" Jack asked.

"Phantom, that's my ghost name."

"Alright, Phantom," I said, still not feeling good about this but I had to take a risk here—so much to learn and it was being offered at our feet. "If you lie to us and break this pact, then we won't restrain ourselves and we'll send you to where you belong."

Phantom jumped into the air lightly and hung a few feet above the pavement, his face taking on an odd look.

"I don't belong anywhere," he said in a depressed tone before flying up so high we couldn't see him anymore.

After he was gone, Jack turned to me, looking uneasy.

"Maddie, are you sure that was a good idea?" he asked.

"No," I said, hefting the gun to my shoulder, "but I didn't know what else to do. If what he says is true, then it could benefit us greatly."

Jack nodded and walked back to the RV. I turned to join him, seeing a large black cat with green eyes stalk out of the alley to my left. It looked familiar somehow, but I pushed it aside and got into the car with my husband and drove home—to question our daughter about keeping secrets.


	21. Homes & Spirits

_**This was written really quick like because I had the inspiration and I didn't want it to leave so I worked fast. Sorry for missing words or other small errors. **_

* * *

**Chapter 20—Danny's POV—Homes & Spirits**

Evelyn McCord had an unmarked grave. Many accused of witchcraft were not given proper rights after they were executed. Fortunately, my birth mother never saw death by way of drowning or burning at the stake. No, she died from an epidemic of typhoid, the same strain that almost killed me.

It was not all that difficult to find the ruins of Old Amity. Some small part of my brain found the terrain familiar, despite hundreds of years of differences that had occurred since I was last here. Our hut was still there; old, rotten, broken, but still there. I did not approach it, only stood off to the side and tried to imagine how it had been before; trying to remember the real woman who I knew had loved me with no trickery or implanted memories like Maddie Fenton. Maddie might have been a mother to me at one time, but now that I had faced them again, the people I had known to love me and take care of me as I grew up with no knowledge of the truth, I found myself torn as to who I should be considering my parents.

The Fentons were all that I knew, a human life that was as normal as could be in that house. When I received my powers, that perception did not change much; Maddie and Jack were still my parents. They still slept in the room down the hall, they still drove me around town when I needed a lift, they went to the parent-teacher conferences at school, and they grounded me when I came home late or neglected to do my chores. I might have changed, but the world around me had not, but now it had. Not only had I changed, but the whole of reality had changed for everyone, though they didn't know it. Jack and Maddie Fenton were no longer my parents, but they still felt like to me.

For months I had been living with Clockwork, even getting comfortable enough to call him 'Dad', but did that really make him my dad? Did this new ghost family that I had gained make a proper substitute for the human family and friends I had grown up with? Learned to love and live with?

I felt so conflicted that I stood there for hours, just thinking and staring at that poor little hut that I had been born and raised in. As dark came, the pressure of my conflicted emotions and thoughts felt like they were crushing me. I fell to my knees, feeling too weak to stand up any longer. It was then that I felt tears falling from my eyes and the cold wrap around me. I always liked winter, but this cold was different. I felt it stuff itself into my lungs and start to strangle me.

"STOP THIS!"

After my scream, it was so quiet that not even a pin dropping could be heard. Everything was silent, as if the life was sucked out of it and I was living in a painting. Trees that had been swaying in the wind were now straight and cold. No sounds were around, no creatures to scamper on the ground or fly in the now black sky. So black, with no stars or moon, as if they had been blotted out somehow.

"I'm so tired," I said to the ground as I looked at it between my cold hands. "Why can't anything be normal, why do I always have to fight something? I'm so tired, I just want to give up."

A flash of light made me look up quickly. I saw nothing but darkness in front of me, then I saw it again out of the corner of my eye. I turned and saw a white dove, resting on a branch above my head. I watched that bird as if it was a lifeline, and perhaps it was. It seemed to be the only thing that made sense in this black world I had wrapped myself in. I knew it wasn't a normal dove, just the way it looked at me and how white the feathers were was evidence to that.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, but I didn't turn around to face the owner of that hand. It felt warm, familiar, and I feared that if I looked, it would be gone forever and I would never get this feeling again.

"Child, why do you cry out?"

Her voice was thickly accented, so thick that it was almost a different language. I understood every word though, but I made no answer.

"It's alright to answer, you need not fear this wood."

"It's not the wood I fear," I told her, watching the dove as it flickered off into the darkness. "It's what's beyond it that scares the living hell out of me."

"You do not understand," she said as if it was a simple answer to a very complex problem.

"No, I'm tired of understanding, tired of _trying _to understand every blasted thing that happens to me!" I yelled out at the darkness. "I'm so tired of moving, and yet, feeling like I haven't gone anywhere. I'm lost. Where's home?"

"Home is where you make it," she said as the other hand came down on my other shoulder to give me a slight squeeze as if it was a hug. "Home is what holds everything you hold dear, where you want to be, what you want to protect with your very life. That is home child."

"I don't have anything like that. I don't know what to think," I said softly, dejectedly.

"Then don't think."

She said it so bluntly that I had to laugh at its simplicity.

"It's not that simple," I told her, but a slight smile was still on my face.

"Things are not always as complicated as they seem," she said, and I could feel her drawing back.

"Wait! Don't go!"

I spun around to try and stop her, my hand flying out to grab her, but my arm met mist. I looked at my hand for a second before looking up and saw a figure in the mist for a split second before it completely dispersed and the world started to turn again.

The stars emerged, the moon started to rise with a freakish orange glow around it, and the sounds emerged. Breath had been added to this cold, still painting to give it life again. Whether it was my doing I don't know, but as the last of the white mist disappeared, I had to stare at it, than back at the hut that had served as a home for me when I was small.

Taking a deep breath, I got my feet to move and I walked over to the hut.

I phased through the wood, not bothering to use the door that wouldn't open for me. I got inside and took in the ruined interior. Nearly all of it was burned away. Villagers must have come to burn down the house after my mother had died. The only thing that seemed to have survived the fire after all of these years, was an old torn blanket. Years of laying there made it stiff and faded, but I picked it up anyway. Out of curiosity, I touched it and felt that it was as stiff as a board, but I also saw the knitting needles still attached to the blanket. It was only half finished. This puzzled me, it would seem odd to lay an unfinished baby blanket on the floor.

My eyes got wide as I realized something. There was one person who I thought would not be in this timeline, but now, I think I was wrong.


End file.
